Winter's Child
by Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS
Summary: A small collection of arcs, drabbles, and one-shots about our favorite Winter Spirit, Jack Frost.
1. Winter King

**Hi, this is Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS. This is my first Fanfic. This first chapter is extremely short, but it is just a small little precursor that another writer inspired. My following chapters should be longer, but they will still be pretty short until I get the hang of writing these. I invite all type of feedback, as well as suggestions on new stories or how to edit the ones already published.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OC's.**

Jack Frost was not an ignorant spirit. Even though lived in involuntary solitude he always he heard the stories about himself. The stories of the Winter King.

The Winter King sits alone on top his throne of snow, a crown of ice upon his head. He is six feet tall and has an aura of coldness about him that is as sharp as ice. He never smiles nor invites any attitude of pleasure. His eyes are ice blue and his white hair is jagged like broken ice. His face is set in a permanent scowl and he forever sits alone in his icy silence.

The Winter King does not like others and he despises children.

He sends storms of his rage that scare the kids and trap them in their houses. His hate is released through massive blizzards that bury towns and kill men. Every year people are killed by his frigidness, succumbing to the freezing temperatures. He is the embodiment of hate and violence, and winter is always feared. The Winter King is not royal, not loved by his people. He is feared and hated by all.

Jack Frost was the Winter King.

**Like I said, really short. Please R&R. I will publish another chapter or two soon.**


	2. Alone

**These chapters are still a little short, sorry. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

The child never spent much time in one place, aside from his lake. He awoke 300 years ago, rising through the ice covering the lake. He looked up into the moon with wonder. It told him that he was Jack Frost, but it has not spoke to him since. He was fascinated with his new abilities, everything he touched was covered in frost. When he walked across the lake the ice thickened and he was able to glide across the top. He was startled when he kept into the air and stayed there. The wind whispered in his ear and tousled his hair. He laughed, fascinated with his new friend, but when he dropped his staff he was dumped unceremoniously onto the ice once again. When he picked up the staff again it rushed around him, blowing on him gently in apology. He laughed again and all of a sudden he felt power surging from him into the staff. He nearly cried out when he shot a blast of ice into the sky.

In the next few years, after encounters with the winter sprites as well as the other seasonals, Jack Frost learned to control his powers as well as the responsibilities of being the Spirit of Winter. This control took a long time for Jack to master.

Jack touched down in a town near his lake. He read a sign out front that called it Burgess. He walked through the town and listened to the laughter of the children as they threw snowballs at each other, but soon a small girl came into the town crying. An older gentleman ran over to her and asked what was wrong. She was crying hysterically, and it was some time before they understood what she was trying to say. She said that she was skating with her brother when the ice underneath her began to crack. Jack, her older brother, had distracted her with a game and got her to safety. When she looked back she had saw that he had landed on top of the thin ice. She said her elder brother smiled at her one last time before he fell through. It was hours before she finally quieted down and fell asleep hours later. The men of the town were very somber and the women keened quietly in a small group. Even the children have up their laughing antics as they caught on to the tragic event that happened.

Jack tried to comfort the children, but as he went to touch one of them the girl ran straight through him. He gasped and reeled away. The physical pain compounded with his emotional hurt and he flew away on the wind. He flew for a long time and eventually he landed on a desolate white glacier. He figured he was in the Antarctic, but he paid very little attention to his surroundings. As he had flown, the turmoil inside him had grown. In one hoarse yell the energy inside him exploded outwards. He was barely aware of the intense blizzard raging around him as he fought his internal struggle. It was nearly three days later when the storm began to lessen and the spirit returned to himself. He gasped when he realized the power he had released and he collapsed to the ground.

It was a week later when the he awoke, still very drained by the storm. It was at that moment that the young spirit realized his true powers, he was the controller of Winter. That did nothing to ease the pain inside him though. Slowly he learned to control his power and his emotions as he wandered around the South Pole. It would not be for some time that Jack would return to his lake or realize the responsibility of the Spirit of Winter, but he learned quickly to hide the pain and loneliness. He learned to control the intense power raging inside of him. He learned how to gracefully fly on the wind and understand the pull of his body to cover everything in snow and ice. He learned how to follow his instincts to provide winter, as well as how to limit his storms. He learned how to lead his fellow sprites and take their advice. He also learned how to recover with run-ins with not so nice spirits, as well as the intense pain that accompanied a person walking through him. Jack Frost was a very quick learner.

**Please R&R! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	3. Friends

**This chapter will be a little bit longer, but stick with me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

It was a year after his awakening when Jack Frost first met Trilily and she was not happy. She was angry with him for over-staying his welcome in Burgess, it was nearly April and it was time for Spring! She watched as the Winter Spirit skated across the frozen lake as snowflakes fell all around him. She stormed out of the bushes. Jack Frost looked up in surprise.

"How dare you mess with my season!?" she screeched at him. He looked shocked, at that point in time Jack thought only the other winter sprites could see him.

"Wha?" he asked confused. "Who are you?"

"I am Trilily, Spirit of Spring, and you are not welcome here anymore. It is my season now!" She stormed over till she was standing right in front of Jack. She was nearly as tall as him and had no trouble staring him down. Trilily had beautiful, straight red hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Her face was flecked with freckles, and her eyes were a shade of emerald green. She was wearing a brown hombre dress that was white at the low-cut neckline, ribbons of silvery fabric floated behind her as she approached him, and he also noticed that she wore no shoes, like him. "Unfreeze this lake right now!" She commanded him in a singsong like voice that reminded him of birds, and he could tell that she smelled of fully bloomed lilies.

"No, I am sorry, but this is my lake." His response was very casual, but he did not back down from her glare.

"I will it stand for this Jack Frost. If you do not leave soon, I will return." With that she disappeared in a swirl of flower petals.

It was two days later when Trilily returned, but this time she was not alone. Along with her was another young spirit like them. If Jack had to guess from what he saw, the group of seasonals, including himself, was a rather young looking group. All of his sprites looked at least ten years older than any of them. Jack new that he looked fifteen or so, Trilily looked possibly seventeen, and her new friend, Jack guessed she was the Spirit of Summer, looked not a day over twenty. The newcomer had silky golden blonde hair, and warm chocolatey eyes. Her skin was lighter than Trilily's, but definitely darker than the alabaster white of Jack's skin. It was a light golden in comparison to the somewhat dirty look of Trilily. She was an inch taller than Trilily, and she had a much more inviting attitude. She was wearing a ruby red dress that was mixed with shades of orange and yellow that reminded Jack of the Sun. The dress was a high-low and it stopped just at the knee in the front. The dress was embroidered in gold with a golden chain around her waist and she was accompanied by the smell of a crackling fire.

"Hello, Jack Frost. I am Solera, the Spirit of Summer." She stepped forward from the side of Trilily and she spoke in a soft lilting tone. "I know you are young, but you must learn that the seasons must be in balance, and right now it is the time of Spring, and you and me are not needed here."

"I understand, but this is my lake, this is where I was born as a spirit." he responded just as gently.

"Jack Frost, you must learn balance. If you do not leave now I will be forced to teach you a very hard lesson." Jack laughed at her response, how could such a sweet girl hurt him. A moment later he realized his mistake. It would take Jack nearly a week to fully recover from the attack of the two heated spirits. As his burns finally faded a new spirit stepped into his sight. He was currently in Antartica, having learned quickly that the cold helped to heal his wounds faster.

The new spirit looked about twenty one years old and he had a casual smile on his face as he approached the Winter Teen. He wore and orange burlap shirt and brown leggings. Also shoeless like the rest of the seasonals. He had short, messy brown hair and blue eyes. He too had freckles splotched across his face.

He looked sadly upon Jack as he saw the remnants of the attack on the young spirit. "I wish I had met you sooner, Frost. I am Autumnalia, the Spirit of Fall. Unlike the other two seasonals, I understand you. I too have a colder side and I am more forgiving and patient. The four of us, me, you, Trilily, and Solera, are the spirits that embody the four seasons. We all have lower level sprites, but we control much more than them. We also have to learn how to properly use our powers. You will have to learn from your sprites as to how to spread winter, but only you can teach yourself to learn from mistakes. The other seasons and spirits are not so nice, and you will have to learn how to deal with that. For now you will have to be content with learning how to control your power. Seasonal spirits are filled with power, and if we are not careful it can have consequences. Never go too long without using your powers, trust me, but you will have to come to a place such as this one so that you don't affect others. I am sorry, but this is the only information I can give you. The rest you will have to find out on your own. Goodbye, Jack Frost," and with that he was swept away leaving with the sound of rustling leaves.

And so Jack learned because Jack Frost was a quick learner.

**Please R&R! Suggestions are welcome! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	4. Immortal Child

**Here is a new chapter for all of my readers. Please give me feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Jack Frost was not a cruel person, not like the stories told by others. He is the Spirit of Winter, the Winter King, but he was also the embodiment of fun. Jack Frost did not believe in powerful storms that ravaged the Earth. He believed in snow days and fun games.

He was only a young spirit, only three centuries old. Those who met the spirit saw the young teen who could not have been a day over fifteen. His ice blue eyes sparkled with fun and mischief. He had spiky white hair and a snow-white smile. He wore a dark blue hoodie covered in intricate frost designs. His threadbare pants were secured at the calf with string. He carries a staff, like a Shepherd's crook, thrown casually over his shoulder. He is graceful like no other, and he rides the air carried by one of his few friends, the Wind. He spends a lot of time alone comforted by the Wind, but that doesn't stop him from trying to get the children to see him. He is the one who would throw the first snowball and start an all out snowball fight, and he is the one that ices the snow to speed up the sled. He is the Immortal Child and the Winter King.

The stories of the cruel Winter King were born out of the hate of the other spirits like Trilily, the Spirit of Spring, and Solera, the Spirit of Summer. He was alone, but he was not hateful. He still did not like the three centuries were the only attention he got was from the other seasonal spirits and occasionally some other spirits and sprites. He was a very forgiving spirit, but he still felt the sting of loneliness. He his pain behind a smile though and none were the wiser.

Unlike Trilily and Solera though Autumnalia, the Spirit of Fall and the only other male seasonal spirit, liked Jack Frost. Autumnalia shared more in common with the icy spirit because he was colder than the other two seasonals. He was the frigid breezes that signaled the cold winter to come.

Aside from Autumnalia and the Wind, Jack Frost had no friends before he became a Guardian. He had already met a few of the Guardians in the past, as well as other spirits, but no one ever paid attention to the Winter King, the Immortal Child. Many of those who met Jack Frost hated him. He was the destroyer of life and the bringer of cold. He was also a trickster and a nuisance. He would constantly be beat up by the other spirits, aside from Autumnalia, Wind, and the winter sprites he encountered. Instead of seeking out the comfort of others, the Immortal Child kept to himself.

The other winter sprites were kinder to Jack than the other spirits, but they did not pay the Winter King too much attention. Many only had one of the different aspects of the Winter Spirit like ice, snow, or frost. Although they didn't ignore Jack Frost, they didn't seek him out either. Many had to meet with the winter spirit once in a while, so their powers don't cross each other. The Spirit of Winter had the final call on the season, but the others had to maintain winter when the young spirit neglected some area or part of his duties. They helped to bring the smaller storms and maintain the season in every wintry area while Jack Frost had to focus his efforts on a specific area.

**Please R&R! Feedback and suggestions are welcome! I have an idea for a new arc and I hope to update soon! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	5. Meetings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Nicholas St. North

It was Christmas night, and Nicholas St. North, AKA Santa Clause, was making his rounds around the world. He peered through the thick white snow, muttering to himself. It was not the first time he had delivered presents amidst a storm, but that did not keep him from complaining to himself anyway. He was nearly done, all he had left to do was visit northeastern United States and the eastern parts of Canada. He was finishing up with a little town know as Burgess when he saw the Winter Spirit.

North had heard from Man in Moon about the new spirit, but due to preparations for Christmas he was unable to visit the spirit personally. That had been nearly two and a half centuries ago, and North felt a slight bit of guilt for never visiting the child. North was quite surprised when he got a good look at the new Spirit of Winter. The child spirit, for the spirit was a child, could not have been sixteen years old yet. North had known that the seasonal spirits tended to be younger because they were the wilder side of nature, but he had never seen a spirit so young.

The Immortal Child glided on the wind of the storm with inhuman grace. The spirit laughed as the storm spirited around him and coated the ground in a thick layer of snow. North watched as the child began to fly around the town causing mischief. He skated across the telephone lines causing them to freeze in ice before he frosted the windows of a little house. The winter teen continued to play around the town and North watched him create icy patches that caused adults to slip.

North shook his head in fascination. Of all of the winter spirits he had known, none were quite so carefree. Many stayed on their ice fortresses and sent ravaging snow storms around the world. He had never seen one who actually played in the towns or took delight in his own storms. He was also surprised how close the child was with Wind. Wind was a very old spirit and it took a lot to impress her. She did not easily interact with many others and some one who so easily interacted with her must have been special.

North cursed to himself quietly, he had spent too much time watching the Winter Spirit and he was falling behind in his gift deliveries. He threw one last look over his shoulder at the winter teen, he would soon regret never actually speaking with the Spirit.

The Sandman

Sandy was one of the first Guardians to have ever met the winter child. He was quite surprised one day when he looked over his shoulder and saw the child sitting on his dream cloud. The teen looked delighted with himself after he had finally found the Sandman. It was not the first time Sandy saw the young spirit. He had seen the child playing with his sand for years. He had guessed it was about a month ago when the child started to follow the sand streams to their source.

Although Dandy was surprised he was delighted to meet the winter child. Aside from the rare Guardian meetings he never really "talked" with any other spirits. Neither of the two spirits talked, they just sat there in companionable silence. Eventually the young spirit fell asleep and Sandy deposited him by the lake that the child frequented. The two spirits would continue to spend nights together over the next three centuries and the child even learned to understand Sandy's symbols. Although he did not see the child often he was always happy to see the child sleep with a smile on his face when he left him by the lake each time. Sandy thought Jack Frost was a wonderful spirit and he hoped that the spirit thought of him as a friend.

Queen Toothiana

Toothiana was a very busy spirit. She was always directing her little faries all over the world collecting teeth. She had heard of Jack Frost from her fairies. She heard of a young teen with teeth as white as freshly fallen snow. She heard of how he always played with the little fairies and brought a smile to their face. She had always wanted to meet the young spirit. She had wanted to see his rumored carefree smile and watch as he glided on the wind, but she was too busy. She would soon be distracted from her thoughts of the spirit by her duties as the Tooth Fairy. She was the only Guardian who had never even seen the young spirit before he was chosen to be a Guardian, but she would regret never taking the time to play with the young spirit.

E. Aster Bunnymund

Bunnymund only met the child spirit once every few years. The first time though was in the early nineteen hundreds. It was only a day before Easter and Bunny was frowning at the frost covering the ground in most of North America. He heard a breeze rustling the bushes behind him, and he turned to see a young boy leaning against a tree.

The child was probably fifteen or sixteen and he had ice white hair and cerulean blue eyes. He was wearing a blue hoodie and brown pants with a staff casually rested against his shoulder. His eyes twinkled with mischief and he had a smirk on his face. He stood up and casually walked across the surface of the barely frozen lake, gliding from foot to foot.

"What are you doing here? I think you have the wrong season." Bunny wasn't overly rude, but he wasn't very happy about the frost either.

"Calm down Kangaroo." Jack laughed at Bunny's outraged expression at the nickname, "I am here to apologize actually." He laughed once again at his now surprised look. "One of my frost sprites, Frieze, mistook her orders. Instead of lightly frosting northern Russia northern United States got hit. It should melt by tomorrow. Don't children love to play in muddy puddles anyway." The Winter Spirit flew off laughing before Bunny could retort. The mud would definitely smudge some of his designs, but at least the child apologized. It would not be until Easter of '68 til Bunnymund spoke to the spirit again.

**Please R&R! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	6. Too Late Pt 1

**Here is another chapter for my faithful readers. I will continue to update.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"Jack look out!" Bunnymund's warning came a moment too late and Pitch's scythe cut across the Winter Spirit's back. The child dropped to the ground without even uttering a scream. As Pitch raised his scythe to strike again, a whip of golden sand ripped the weapon out of his hands. He turned around shocked to be standing face to face with the Sandman. A golden whip wrapped around his waist and flung him to the sky before slamming him back into the ground. Sandy repeated this process multiple times before the Boogeyman was barely conscious.

Meanwhile, the other Guardians could not even celebrate the rebirth of their friend. They were too focused on the broken and bleeding boy in front of them. It only took a moment longer until Bunnymund came out of his shock.

Pointing at one of the yetis he yelled, "Phil, go prepare the infirmary. Make sure it is extremely cold." The yeti nodded before hurrying through a portal.

North was next one to shake his daze. He looked at Bunnymund and handed him one of his snow globes, "Take him to Santoff Clausen. We will stay here and fight off the Nightmares, while you get him help." Bunny nodded his head in agreement before walking through the portal he just created with Jack Frost in his arms.

He appeared on the bustling Globe room and he had to avoid stepping on the elves as he ran to the infirmary. Ignoring the chill as he walked into the room he laid the Immortal Child, his stomach down, on one of the pristine white beds. He stared in horror at the long gash that ran down the child's back.

Phil began to use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water to start cleaning the wound. The gash ran across his back from his right shoulder down to his left hip and it was an inch deep in some places.

Bunny winced as the yeti began to stitch together some of the torn muscles in the back. When he was done with that the yeti was forced to relocate a piece of bone that had broken away from the rest of the rib. It took another hour for the yeti to finish stitching shut the Winter King's back. With the help of Bunny , the yeti then wrapped the winter child's torso with clean white gauze. Throughout the whole process the young spirit did not even flinch once, he was too deeply unconscious to feel the pain of his body. Bunny sat by the child's small, pale body until the other Guardians returned.

The doors burst open and Tooth came flying in. "Oh my poor Sweet Tooth," she lamented as she stroked the teen's hair. The others entered behind her, a bit more subdued.

After a few moments looking at the boy North spoke, "We must discuss things. Sandy you stay here with Jack and make sure he dreams well, while the rest of us discuss some issues." Sandy nodded his head in agreement. As the three other Guardians left the room he sprinkled some of his golden dream sand on the Immortal Child's head. A scene of children having a snowball fight soon floated over the spirits head, and Sandy smiled at the innocence.

Meanwhile the other Guardians stood dejectedly around the table in the Globe room. Tooth was the first to speak up, "Bunny, how long did Phil say he would be asleep?"

"I don't know mate. He looked worried though. The kid has a nasty gash, and I'm not sure how much we can do to help him."

"He should heal," North said gruffly, "He is Spirit. We heal fast."

"Of course! You're right! We heal faster than normal," Tooth was ecstatic when she remembered the regenerative abilities of spirits.

"Hold it Sheila. Just because we heal fast doesn't mean it won't take a while. Coming back from major injuries still hurts and the kid is going to need a lot of help."

Tooth looked a little dejected at the logic behind Bunny's words. She looked at the others before asking her question, "Do you think he still doesn't want to be a Guardian? I mean he has been mostly on his own all these years, and aside from Sandy none of us really talked to him. He has every right to refuse, but we can't let him continue to be alone." The other Guardians nodded their heads, they will not wrong the child again.

"He can stay here at Pole," North insisted. "I will have Yetis make a room for him. We have plenty room."

"He might have a room here, North, but that doesn't mean he will stay here. He has a lot of duties to do around the world. Who even knows where he spends his off time?"

The others were taken aback once again. No one really knew that much about the Winter Spirit. Most of them only knew of his troublemaker side. They didn't know if he had any friends, if he had a home, where he spent his off seasons, or even the reason why he carried that Shepard's crook.

Bunny audibly gasped as he remembered the young spirits staff. "Where is Jack's staff? That kid seemed pretty attached to it."

North concentrated a moment before sending off one of his yetis with instructions on where to find the staff. "My yeti will find it and put it in the infirmary with Jack." Bunnymund calmed down knowing that the kid would still have at least one of his possessions with him. He regretted having to tell the kid that the yetis were unable to save his beloved hoodie. The long rip through the fabric compounded with the bloodstains made it impossible for the yetis to repair it.

Everyone remained silent for a while longer before they all returned to the infirmary. Until the child awoke they agreed that North and Bunnymund would take turns watching over him as he slept because the other two Guardians had to rebuild the children's belief. Before Sandy left though, he left a small pouch of dream sand to help Jack sleep peacefully.

It was a very long week for the Guardians as they waited for the child to awaken. A day after his stitches were put in the child developed an infection and that worried Phil a lot. The child's temperature is normally around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but with his fever his temperature was nearly 70 degrees. Through the fever and delirium the child would randomly spout lines of gibberish that made no sense to the listener. This worried the Guardians as much as anything.

It would take another week for the infection to be fully gone, and the yetis had to resort to using primitive methods to bring down the spirit's fever. Every half an hour or so, they would apply a compress of snow on the child's back to cool the skin and bring down the inflammation. The Guardians all breathed a sigh of relief when Phil told them that the infection was completely gone and the child should awake in a few more days.

Those few days would be the longest days of their lives. Tooth continually contacted North or Bunny trying to see if the Jack had awoken yet. Finally North was tired of her questions and told her that he would activate the Northern lights when Jack finally woke up. During North's turn to watch over Jack, he would read the child stories. While Bunnymund watched over Jack Frost he asked him questions about himself and towards the end he even apologized for all of his rude comments, hoping that it would elicit some response from the Winter Teen. Instead they both sat in the suffocating silence, waiting for the day that the young spirit would awaken. That day would be about 10 days after the final battle with Pitch.

**Please R&R! I am open to suggestions and requests as well. Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	7. Too Late Pt 2

**Here is part 2 of the Too Late arc. This is Jack's side of the story to his long days of recovery. I am hoping to write another chapter or two to finish the arc and I hope to post them soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Jack Frost felt terrible. It was not the first time he woke up feeling this bad though. There was that one time he screwed around with the fire sprites, not a smart idea. There was that time that he ran into some birds and he dropped his staff, which caused him to free fall 1,500 feet into the Arctic Ocean. He also fell down an ice crevasse on a glacier in Alaska once too. So, what did Jack Frost do this time?

He already knew something was different this time. Normally he woke up somewhere uncomfortable, like a glacier, an ocean, a snow bank, or any other type of freezing landscape. To be fair, it wasn't freezing to him, just to normal people. It wasn't like it was a new thing waking up comfortable, actually the last time this happened he rough-housed with the yetis a little too much. It would make sense, over the years it had become a game over the years.

Jack would always try to find new ways to sneak into Santoff Clausen and the yetis would have to throw him out. He even learned to speak yetish, but sometimes when they were a little too rough he would have to be fixed up in the infirmary. He had never met North though. The yetis didn't want to tell North about the little accidents and Jack didn't insist upon it. Actually it was quite the opposite, after so many years of playing with the yetis he did not want to stop. So when he was all healed up he would sneak out one of the windows the yetis would leave open for him.

Something about that didn't quite ring true. All of the other times he was hurt it would never be this bad. Whenever he got hurt "playing" with the yetis it was never worse than a broken bone that needed to be set. This was a searing pain that ran the whole way across his back. The searing pain was like a brand burning a line down his back, and he moaned softly.

That was the next thing he noticed was he couldn't even hear himself. He knew he was making sounds, but he couldn't even hear it. His labored breathing became more rapid as panic set in, but all of a sudden he felt really sleepy and he was soon dreaming about sledding and snow days.

The next time Jack woke up there was a new pain in his back. The burning, searing pain was still there, but there was something else too. This new sensation felt like his skin and muscles were roiling. This felt a lot worse. He also felt unusually warm. Jack Frost was never warm. Being warm made him tire a lot faster, as did his restless fits of rolling. He kept trying to move around to stop the feeling of maggots worming the way through his body. He gasped when he felt the cooling sensation on his back. Once again he began to feel sleepy and he returned to the world of dreams.

He woke up once again to this unbearable sensation. This time he could not help but moan in pure agony. He didn't even have the energy to move, the heat in his back was draining all of it. Even the snow compress on his back could barely do anything to help the searing heat. The only thing that seemed to improve was his ability to hear muted sounds. As his body became more and more tired he fell into the arms of the Sandman once again.

When he awoke this time he was overjoyed at the blessed relief from the burning in his back and body. He still did not have the energy to open his eyes, but he sat there in the room, listening to the soft sounds around him. The next thing he noticed was the fact that he could actually hear the sounds in the room. The most predominant sound was his own laboured breathing. He could also hear someone else in the room. There was alight thumping sound, it took a little while, but he guessed that it was Bunnymund. But why would Bunnymund watch over him? The two of them were never on friendly terms. He mutedly heard Bunny saying something to him, but his fever was still keeping him from processing things well. He sat there content to listen to the soft murmur of Bunny's voice before he once again entered the world of dreams.

When he awoke this time Jack could coherently form thoughts. He listened as North read him stories about magicians, doctors, and elves. He began to remember why he was in Santoff Clausen as well. He remembered fixing his staff after Pitch broke it, and threw him, along with his broken staff, into an ice crevasse with Baby Tooth. He also began to remember his little sister. He remembered how protective he was and he remembered how and why he died. He always loved to play even in bad situations. He died playing a game that saved his sister's life. He knew why Manny chose him to be a Guardian, the Guardian of Fun. He found his center.

Jack chuckled weakly to himself. This attracted the attention of North. "Jack? Jack? Are you awake?" He sounded hopeful, and Jack wondered how long he had been asleep. North grumbled after Jack hadn't responded and he continued to read a story about a doctor and some ponds, Jack had no idea. Although he could finally comprehend what he was hearing he could not comprehend the story after only listening for a couple of minutes. He still felt really tired, but he stayed awake for another hour or so listening to a story of an alien with two-hearts and a screwdriver. Eventually he began to slumber once again.

This time when he woke up he finally felt well rested. He could even blearily open his eyes.. He blinked a couple of times before he blinked the crust out of his eyes. He groaned as he felt the pain and soreness in his back. He fuzzily saw Bunnymund enter his field of vision as he walked over to stand by Jack's bed.

"Hey Frostbite. How are you feeling?"

"Hey Kangaroo," Jack's voice was rough from disuse, but he was even more surprised when his Bunny didn't even respond to his nickname. "Where am I?" He fuzzily remembered his mind conversations, but they were a little fuzzy.

""You are at Santoff Clausen, Snowflake. We brought you here after Pitch injured you. You have been asleep for nearly ten days. We have all been pretty worried." He chose to ignore the child's confused look at his concern.

"Why do I feel so bad?" Jack was beginning to remember some of his thoughts, including his sister and where he was, but he couldn't remember the cause of the searing pain from before.

"You developed a bad infection and it took nearly a week for the fever to break. You were lucky Phil realized that you body temperature was supposed to be really low and we had to use snow to bring down your overall temperature. It was pretty close Jack. I know its hard for spirits to die, but our bodies can only take so much." Bunny shivered slightly at the thought and Jack just sat back, groaning slightly at the effort.

Bunny looked over at Phil who walked into the room, "Aye, Phil. Go and activate the Northern Lights and summon North. He should be resting. Tell him Frosty woke up."

Turning his attention back to Jack he said, "The others have been waiting for the signal. I won't doubt that they will be here soon. I sent North off not long ago. He has been on here with you more than anybody and he needed to rest."

Jack closed his eyes and Bunny looked at him worriedly, "What hurts mate?"

"Everything," Jack rasped in return. Bunny chuckled softly and turned his head as North entered.

"Jack!" he exclaimed, "Is good to see you awake again! "

Jack opened his eyes and turned his head to look at North, "You too, North." North frowned at the boy's raspy voice and ordered one of the yetis to bring him a cup of ice water. When said yeti returned Bunny had to hold the straw for the tired spirit, who wasn't very happy with it.

Sandy and Tooth entered nearly at the same time and Tooth rushed over to Jack's bedside on full mother hen mode. "Jack are you alright? Did someone get you water? Where do you hurt? Are you tired? Do you remember what happened?" The rapidity of her voice made it nearly impossible for anyone to understand her.

Jack chuckled weekly in return, "Relatively, yes, everywhere, yes, and no. Now can you calm down a bit." He chuckled again before coughing, which caused his thin body to shake violently.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sweet Tooth. Just lay back. We were so worried, I mean you have been asleep for so long."

"I know Tooth it's okay." Jack's speech had become very soft and everyone except Bunny had to strain to hear it above the teen's labored breathing. Before anyone could say anything more, Sandy hit Jack with a ball of golden sand and the child fell asleep once more.

North tried to translate Sandy's rapid symbols, "He still needs to sleep. His body is very tired and he will awaken in a few hours. We should all go eat while we wait." Sandy nodded his head in affirmation of North's translation. All the Guardians agreed and they slowly left the sleeping child.

They could all wait a few hours for their explanations. They had all agreed that Jack had been asleep too long for it to have just been an infection. Something else had happened to Jack, and they were going to find out one way or another.

**Please R&R! PM me if you have any suggestions or requests! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	8. Too Late Pt 3

**I will definitely be writing another chapter to finish off this little arc. I have a couple of other little ideas running around my head as well. :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

The Guardians sat around the table in the Globe room, eating muffins and bananas. No one really spoke. Although they were excited to see that Jack was awake, it was difficult to watch his shaky movements and hear his raspy voice. It kept them grounded to see him in so much pain, it reminded them of why he was like that in the first place.

"Does anyone else think there is more to this than we thought. Sure we still take time to heal, but his body should not have taken that long to fight of the infection. I think there is something he is hiding. He was also really confused when he woke up mates."

"I agree with Bunny, Tooth didn't want to seem to tell me what she was doing before the final battle with Pitch. I knew she was with Jack, but she refuses to tell me what happened. That is suspicious at the least." Sandy nodded his agreement.

"We should not push the boy," North insisted. "If we pressure him he will close himself off, and we will learn absolutely nothing. We must be subtle and not push him too much." The others grudgingly accepted North's plan, and they all continued to eat their food items in relative silence. A few hours of silence later Sandy indicated that Jack would awaken soon.

When they entered the infirmary, they saw that Jack was already awake and sitting up. He was blearily looking around the room as the Guardians returned to stand by his bedside.

"Do you have any questions for us mate?" Bunny was unusually nice, and Jack contemplated the reason before continuing.

"Yeah, what happened?" The Guardians seemed a little perturbed by his complete lack of memory of the final battle.

"Do you remember anything at all mate?"

"Yeah, I remember up to the part where we cornered Pitch, but somehow he disapeared."

"Jack," it was Toothiana who spoke this time, "Pitch was using shadow travel. He snuck up behind you when you weren't looking."

"I tried to warn you Frosty, but I was too late," Bunny was a little choked up as he said the last part. "You were too out of it, so I took you to the Pole with Phil. While we treated your injuries the others continued the fight."

"As you can probably remember, when the children touched the sand it turned golden." Jack shook his head up and down, "Well a second after you were injured Sandy reformed, and he began to beat up Pitch." Jack looked a little incredulously at Sandy, and Sandy nodded his head with a very self-satisfied smile on his face.

Tooth then picked up North's narrative from where he left off, "As Sandy the turned his attentions to spreading his dream sand the rest of us began to finish off the nightmares. My fairies escaped Pitch's lair and with their help we soon finished them off. At some point Pitch had snuck off and we went and traced him back to your lake."

North then finished off the narrative, "Nightmares began to surround us, but they weren't ours. In the end Pitch was chased into his lair by his own Nightmares." North chuckled, after finishing off his narrative.

Jack laid back once again groaning at how sore his body was. "How are the children?"

"They are fine, Jack. As soon as Sandy began to spread his dreams, the children began to believe again. We will have to make our next couple of holidays extra special, but we are okay now Jack." North smiled at Jack.

"How is Jamie?" The others smiled gently at the mention of Jack's first believer.

"Jamie is alright mate. I took him and Sophie through the Warren a couple of days ago. They are great lil' ankle-biters."

Jack sighed in relief, he was worried that something had happened to Jamie after he was hurt. "Where is Baby Tooth?"

Tooth chuckled, "I thought you might ask. She is currently filling in for me. I have taught her to run operations, so I can leave the Tooth Palace more often."

"That's great Tooth. That means you can get into the field more often." Jack smiled at her and she nearly swooned at his perfect teeth. "Sooo, when can I get out of here?"

"Snowflake, you just woke up after a major injury." Bunny looked exasperatedly at the young spirit.

"Yeah, and?"

"And," he emphasized, "it's going to be a while before you can even get out of bed."

"Bunnnnyyyyy," Jack whined. "I have places to go, snow storms to spread. I have been itching to go and play in Greenland. I don't spend a lot of time up there because some of my winter sprites are territorial, and I try to stay out of their arguments." Jack saw that the others had looked at him a little weirdly, but he continued, "Where is my staff?"

"Right here mate," Bunny handed Jack's staff over to him. Jack visibly relaxed and even sighed when he had a hold of his staff once again. The frost began to spread around the staff in intricate designs that fascinated the Guardians.

"Well fine. I am tired anyway, guess I will see you all when I wake up." Moments later the young spirit was fast asleep. The others stared at his peacefully sleeping form for a moment longer before returning to the Globe room to wait for him to awaken once again. What they didn't know was that Jack was great at appearing unconscious.

A minute or two after the Guardians left Jack very carefully sat up. His breathing was very laborious and his back screamed with pain, but he couldn't stay. If he stayed here too long he would never be able to leave. He needed to leave before he became attached and they hurt him. Anyway, he was a seasonal. Seasonals are not meant to be locked up in a room. He kept repeating these thoughts as if they would make him feel better about ditching the Guardians.

He realized they weren't all 'high and mighty', they were just ignorant. He actually liked them after realizing they didn't purposely ignore the other spirits, but he can't become attached to things because the Winter King has no real friends. He was alone aside from Wind. He wasn't really sure how to categorize Autumnalia, they weren't friends, they were more like acquaintances. Occasionally meeting once every few decades.

Slowly, Jack made his way over to the open window. He climbed up onto the sill and called out, "Wind! Please take me home." He was soon flying over the white tundra of the North Pole. He wasn't going his normal speed, and the wind seemed to be being extra careful not to jostle him. He rolled his eyes, Wind was always very cautious when Jack Frost was hurt, but it was perfect. The Wind never suffocated him with warmth, it gave just the right amount of comfort to help but not hurt. Sooner than he thought he was being gently lowered to the ground. He soon noticed he was on Greenland. Jack laughed, Wind had been listening in to his conversation with the Guardians.

Even in his tired state Jack was able to summon a small storm. He laughed as he sent thousands of unique snowflakes spiraling to the ground. He loved spending a lot of attention to the delicate designs and he had yet in his three centuries to repeat one. He couldn't speak for his sprites though. They did not care as much about detail as they were about getting the job done. He soon fell into a snowdrift and began to sleep peacefully. Unlike others he was not bothered by the cold, actually he was better rested if he slept in frigid temperatures or piles of snow and ice. He woke a couple hours later to a sprite shaking her head and stamping her foot.

"You aren't supposed to be here Frost."

Jack chuckled, "I haven't been to Greenland in a awhile. I thought I'd stop by Icean." Obviously Icean was an icy sprite, but Jack love red her. She had a fiery temper for one so cold. She had long, silky white hair that reached the whole way down her back. Her eyes were an icy blue and she is slightly shorter than Jack. She always wears a flowing blue dress that accented her figure, but still billowed behind her. Unlike Jack though, she wore small white slippers made of pure snow.

"I can handle this area fine. Thank you very much. Why don't you go harass some other winter sprites."

"Because you are my favorite, Icean." Jack gave her a dazzling smile before he gently stood up. The winter sprites, unlike many others, were immune to Jack's charm, so she was not persuaded by his smile or his jovial attitude. What she did notice was his movements as well as well as the huge white bandage covering his chest.

She was very quick to point this out, "What's wrong with you Jack?"

"What do you mean?" he shot back a little too quickly.

"What have you done to yourself this time? Were the yetis too rough, or did you go and piss off the summer sprites again?"

"It was the boogeyman, thank you very much."

"Really? What did he have against you? I didn't think the two of you really knew each other."

"We didn't. But he was scaring the children, and I couldn't let that happen." Icean raised her eyebrows at Jack, but she didn't feel like commenting on the subject further.

Instead she said to him, "Leave or I will bury you in ice that will take days for even you to get out of."

Jack laughed in return, "Fine. Fine. I will leave." Turning away from the sprite he shouted to the Wind, "Take me home." Within a few hours Jack was sitting in his tree by his lake.

His head snapped up when he heard rustling in the bushes nearby. He silently hid himself among the leaves and peered out curiously. He saw Jamie and his sister looking around intently.

"Come on Soph. We need to help the Guardians look for Jack." Jamie's words surprised Jack. He had assumed the Guardians would just give up on him. He never expected they would go looking for him. They even went so far as to ask Jamie if he had seen him. He wished he could tell Jamie he was right there, but he needed to stay lay low until they gave up on him, the Guardians and Jamie both. They continued to look all around the lake, but they never noticed the Spirit of Winter sitting in a tree just above their heads.

When the two children were gone, he jumped into the wind and he was soon flying to the Antarctic. The wind set him down next to the black ice sculpture from when Jack had "talked" with Pitch. He screamed at the structure and began to blast the sculpture with ice and snow, but he could barely even affect it. He soon broke down and sat against it sobbing. He wondered to himself, "Why does it hurt this much to leave them. I just met them." He realized it was because they had treated him like family and he had already begun to feel the love they radiated towards him. After hours of crying he finally slouched against the black ice sculpture and fell asleep.

Hours later, with a little help from Wind, the Guardians found Jack curled up against the massive black ice structure. He was still wearing the bandage that wrapped around his chest as well as his worn pants. He was asleep and frozen tears covered his cheeks.

**Please R&R! PM if you have any requests or suggestion! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	9. Too Late Pt 4

**This is the final chapter of my Too Late arc. Enjoy! I have a couple ideas for a few other one-shots, but I might not update for a couple of days.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Tooth flew over and hovered next to the Immortal Child. Her heart constricted at the sight. His cheeks were covered in frozen tears and his body was pulled tightly into a ball. She lightly brushed off the drops of ice, very gently so it would not wake him. "Oh my poor Sweet Tooth," she murmured quietly.

"Sheila, back up a little bit. We do not want to scare him off when he wakes up. We need answers, like why it took so long for him to awaken and what this bloody sculpture is. If he feels like he is cornered he will close himself off, again." Tooth nodded and floated back to were he, North, and Sandy were standing or floating.

"Mate," Bunny called out, "it's time to wake up Jack."

Jack blinked his eyes a couple of times before he noticed the other Guardians. He stood up slowly, his back still hurting, although much less due to the arctic temperatures. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We are here looking for you, Jack," North's voice was gruff with emotion, even he could not be affected by the image of the lonely Immortal Child. "You are Guardian now, that makes you family."

"No," Jack said sharply, "I am not a Guardian. I never took the oath. I know why Man in Moon chose me, but he made a mistake. Why would he chose the Spirit of Winter, the Winter King, the most hated spirit of them all." He laughed bitterly at his own mocking words.

"The Winter King?" Tooth spoke up. "I have never heard of that name before." She sounded confused and it caused Jack to look at all of their confused faces in turn.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you guys are really out of the loop. Being the controller of winter and all I don"t have many friends. Some of the nastier ones spread around rumors of the Winter King. The person they described was vengeful and cold. It was how they viewed winter, as well as many other spirits. Not many people like the season of cold, it is known as the season of death after all." The others turned a little angry as he casually spoke of others' hatred towards himself.

"It's okay, guys. I was never really that bothered. If others choose to hate me, so be it. It wasn't the first nor the last time other spirits took their anger out on me in some form." His explanation left room for confusion for the other Guardians, "took their anger out in some form?" They worried about the younger spirit before, but they never realized how badly he has been hated and ignored. They promised themselves to protect the child better in the future.

Bunny was the first to speak up, "Mate, you are still a Guardian even if you haven't taken the oath. Being a Guardian isn't just taking an oath. A Guardian is someone who will always protect the children. That's what you did Jack. Even when we all blamed you, you were the one who fought off Pitch and made the children believe again." The others nodded their heads emphatically.

"Jack you said you found your center earlier. What is it?" North looked curiously at the young spirit, hoping to distract him by changing the subject.

"Oh that, yeah. Haha, it turns out that my center is fun."

"Before the fight with Pitch you said you saw your memories, how? And what did they show you?" Tooth was the most curious about that aspect of the story, even she had never seen the memories of Jack Frost.

"Baby Tooth helped me. I saw me before I became Jack Frost, my name was Jackson Overland. I had a little sister, and I died saving her." Jack looked up when the other Guardians gasped, or in Sandy's case eyes widened. "Wait. didn't you all die?"

"No Sweet Tooth, we didn't. Sandy was a spirit from another world that crash landed on Earth. I was Mother Nature's first creation, I have always been like this."

"I am from another world as well, mate. I am the last of the race of Pookas and I came here to Earth upon invitation from Manny."

"I am the only human Guardian, but I was chosen when as a man I still saw the wonder in everything. My parents were the only people I left behind. So what happened to you, Jack?"

"I loved my little sister, but I could never spend much time with her. That winter I had promised to teach her how to ice skate. It was getting towards late winter, but I hadn't paid much attention to that. She had already stepped out onto the ice before I could check how thick it was. The ice began to crack before I could even get my skates on." The Guardians were a little confused, "If his sister was on thin ice why did he die?", but not wishing to interrupt him they stayed silent.

"She said she was scared, but I told her we were going to play a game. I told her we were going to play hopscotch. I showed her by taking three steps to my staff and onto thick ice. When it was her turn she took three steps towards me then I reached out and grabbed her with my staff. But in order to throw her onto thick ice my momentum had to fling me onto the thin ice in her place. A second later I fell through." Jack paused for a moment, but none of the other Guardians could read the sadness in his eyes.

"I'm not the first one who had to die to become a spirit though. All of the seasonals, not our sprites, have to die in order to be reborn. We must show a love for the season in our previous life, and we must die at the hands of our season in order to be chosen. We all mI had known this, but I never was able to find out how I died or if I had any family. It never bothered me much anyway, all I knew was my name because that was all MiM told me when I woke up." The Guardians all stood there dumbstruck for two reasons; first because Jack revealed so much about himself, and second because they never realized how alone and lost Jack really was.

Everyone was waiting for the inevitable, Bunny complaining about the cold, "It is freezing her mate. Why don't we head back up to the Pole."

"Sure, Kangaroo, just wait a moment." They all waited curiously as Jack closed his eyes and concentrated. A moment later a young girl appeared next to Jack.

"Hey, Icean." Jack seemed happy to see the icy girl.

"Frost, why have you summoned me?" She had a serious attitude which seemed to make Jack smile wider.

"Actually, I was just trying to summon any of you ice sprites, but I am happy it was you. I need you to destroy this." He turned behind him and patted the black ice structure.

"Why not you?" She did not seem too happy to do a favor for the Spirit of Winter.

"Because as you pointed out earlier, I am not at my best, and I don't have the energy to destroy it myself. And this is evil magic, if it were to remain Pitch could learn some new tricks, and we wouldn't want that. I promise not to visit Greenland for a century if you do it for me as well." Jack pleaded with puppy dog eyes that could melt any spirit, but apparently not an ice sprite.

"Fine, Frost. Just stay out of my territory." She turned away from the Winter King and began to ice her powers to destroy the structure. She threw ice shards the size of men at the structure, when it only broke off a few points of the spire she turned suspiciously at Jack. "What is this made of? It is nearly indestructible ice. But I can destroy it of course, it will just take longer than normal."

"I had an encounter with Pitch down here, and this is what happens when you cross cold and dark." Jack frowned at the spire before Icean returned to destroying it.

The Guardians frowned, "An encounter with Pitch? When?" they thought, but the spirit had already begun to walk carefully back to the sleigh. After they all piled in, North pulled out one of his snow globes and they soon found themselves back at Santoff Clausen.

When they were all standing, or in some cases floating (Sandy) or sitting (Jack) in the Globe room Bunny looked at Jack. Even Jack knew that it was time to be serious, "It's time you start explaining a few things. An encounter with Pitch in Antarctica? Took their anger out in some form? And why did it take you so long to wake up? And who was that Sheila we just met?"

"The 'took their anger out is some form' is an easy answer. I was never really like by the other spirits and sprites, so I am like the punching bag of the spirit world. I don't fight back though because that would make them feel justified on their actions if they said that I hurt the as well."

The others looked horrified that such a young spirit had been bullied so much, but they kept their anger to themselves.

"That 'Sheila' was one of my ice sprites. She is very territorial and she considers pretty much all of Greenland her territory. She is also the most powerful of the ice sprites, so be careful around her. Her name is Icean and she has the best personality. I love to annoy her, she's so feisty." Jack laughed at his memories of previous interactions with Icean.

"And the other two are related. After, I had left you guys on Easter I flew down to Antarctica. I had just touched down when Pitch appeared behind me. I immediately attacked him with my ice and he retaliated with his sand. That spire you saw was the result of our powers crossing. He tried to convince to me to work with him. He said that we would be believed in."

Jack paused a moment and the Guardians could see the darkness flashing in his eyes before he continued, "But I refused him. He wanted to be feared, not believed. When I refused him he brought Baby Tooth out from his robes. He said if I gave him my staff he would give me Baby Tooth. I agreed, but when he had my staff he still refused to release Baby Tooth."

Jack smiled fondly as he thought of the little fairy, "At least he didn't let her go until she stabbed him with her beak. He was mad and he threw her down a nearby ice crevasse. Then he broke my staff, and threw me and the broken pieces down the crevasse with Baby Tooth."

"Mate, that doesn't explain why it took so long for you to heal." Bunny said softly.

"Oh yeah, that. There is one thing you should know about my staff. First of all, it is the conduit of my power, so I can only use my powers as the Spirit of Winter when I am holding it. Secondly, the connection between my staff is greater than you think. My staff has spiritual and physical connections with my body. If anything happens to my staff there will be a direct reflection upon my being." The others grew more horrified as they realized what Jack would have felt if his staff was broken.

"Sweet Tooth, how comes your staff is whole now?"

"After Baby Tooth helped me see my memories, I fixed it. It took a couple of tries and a lot of my power and energy, which is why I didn't wake up for such a long time."

It was a while before anyone ventured to speak again. This time it was North who spoke up, "Jack, you are a Guardian now, oath or no oath. You need to learn to rely on the rest of us. We are your family now, you can't just go off now. No sneaking out, especially while you are injured, we were very worried when you disappeared. Also, you need to come to us if the other spirits continue this behavior. Although we mostly protect children, we don't stand for large groups of people bullying a single spirit. That has to stop."

"I know guys," Jack sounded very weary, "but right now I have to go sleep in a snow bank."

"That is another thing we must discuss Jack." The Guardian of Wonder waited until the other spirit looked at him, "The yetis have made you a room here for you to use when you need to stay some place."

"Yeah, mate. The Warren is always open, as long as you don't freeze it or make it snow."

"The Tooth Palace is open for your use as well, and Sandy invites you to join him on his dream cloud at anytime."

Jack's throat constricted with emotion, "Thank you. And I will take all of you up on all of your offers, but right now my body needs the cold. Snow and ice heal my body better than any medicine and I really need to be in my element for a while." With that the Spirit of Winter jumped out of the window and the Guardians watched as Jack dropped into the snow about two miles away. The Guardians relaxed knowing that he didn't refuse them. They also knew how happy the boy was when he was surrounded by winter and they guessed that he would probably spend most of his time at Santoff Clausen, but that didn't bother them. As long as the spirit wasn't alone anymore they were happy.

**Please R&R! Suggestions as well as criticisms are welcome! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	10. Heat

**This is a short one-shot that might lead to a possible arc in the future. I stop I'll have a few other one-shots to write and post first though. Enjoy!**

**BTW: I introduce another winter sprite, Krystel. Pronounced Cry(like the word)-st-L(like if you were to actually say the name of the letter). I did not want my readers to think I could not spell Crystal. :)**

**Disclaimer: a I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"What's up North," Jack called out as he floated down through the open window in the Globe room.

"We wait for other Guardians," was the Cossack's response. A moment later Bunny appeared out of a hole in the floor. Tooth appeared a moment later, and right behind her was Sandy.

"Good we are all here now. New prototype helps track nightmares. It reports some activity in Sahara desert. We go now." No one noticed the look of panic on the Winter Spirit's face as they walked towards the sleigh.

They all piled into the sleigh and Bunny held on tightly as they went through the portal. They arrived in the Sahara, and it was nearly noon and the sun was at its zenith. The others still failed to notice the Winter King's discomfort.

As soon as they spotted the Nightmares they all sprung into action. North had pulled out his swords and began hacking away. Tooth had pulled out her long thin blades that were nearly invisible at the speed which she moved them. Bunny began throwing his boomerangs as Sandy began using a bat made of golden sand. Jack was the last to begin to fight. He was slashing through the Nightmares with his staff after he froze the end of it in ice.

Even though there weren't many Nightmares, Jack was losing. The Spirit of Winter does not belong in the Sahara. The heat sucked the energy out of his body. He was losing energy, focus, and consciousness fast.

The other Guardians began to notice and they moved towards their youngest member. Not long after, a Nightmare kicked Jack in the chest and he collapsed. The other Guardians fought off the remaining Nightmares before they quickly returned to the Pole. When they arrived there was a small disagreement between North and Bunny.

"Mate, his broken ribs need to be set first."

"Bunny, Jack said snow heals him better than medicine."

"Then we can throw out into the snow, after we reset the bones in his chest. You can even see some of them." Bunny pointed at Jack's figure. Even North could see how some of the bones were protruding at odd angles.

"Fine, reset the bones, then have Phil put the boy outside."

"Agreed." True to his word an hour later the boy was resting in the snow just outside the doors of Santoff Clausen.

The Guardians were startled, when only a few hours later they heard a knocking on one of the windows of the Globe room. After Tooth opened the window he floated down until he was walking on the floor, but only Sandy could see the wind supporting him. Sandy suspected that the impact of walking jostled the child too much and the wind was trying to protect him.

"I thought we agreed to keep one of the windows in here open at all times." Jack did not even seem fazed by his injury, and the Guardians wondered not for the first time about the child's past.

"Cleaning yetis must have closed it. They do not like cleaning up all the snow that comes in through the window." North stared pointedly at the spirit who just shrugged it off.

"I don't control the weather up here at the Pole. One of my sprites maintains it, Krystel I think. She is named after her power with ice crystals. She loves to form snowflakes, so therefore she likes to summon a lot of snow."

"Noted. I will tell the yetis to stop complaining about you."

"Wait the yetis complain about me?" Jack sounded affronted, "Who is it? Is it Jeff?"

"I think we are getting a little off topic here mate," Bunny interjected before the winter teen to it upon himself to go hunt down the yeti himself.

As always the joker Jack responded, "Wait. We had a topic?" He laughed at Bunny's slightly annoyed frown.

"How about we start with the fact that your feet aren't touching the floor?" Sandy actually looked over at Bunnymund, he was startled that any one else had noticed.

"Oh that? That's nothing. My feet don't normally touch the floor. Most of the time I glide across the wind. And when I am injured she insists upon it because walking on the wind doesn't have any type of impact, so I never jostle anything by moving. Next topic."

"Okay, how about the whole desert thing?"

"As the Winter Spirit I am healed by ice and snow as you now. I also have a natural body temperature around 35 degrees and no amount of could can affect me. But it also works in reverse. I cannot be exposed to large amounts of heat. Me and the Summer Spirit, Solera are natural enemies as well as sworn rivals. My ice burns her as her heat burns me. Heat literally drains my body of energy. That was actually the first time I had ever stepped foot in Africa. Large parts of the country are too hot for me to stay for any period of time so I avoid it altogether. I let my other sprites deal with it as well as large parts of South America. If I stay in a hot place for too long my body will be drained of all energy."

"And you didn't feel like mentioning this when we were going to the Sahara why?"

"I didn't want to burden you with guilt about either making me fight alongside you or leaving me behind. I was hoping it wouldn't take too long to fight of the Nightmares as well." The others nodded their heads in disbelief a the spirit, he would never cease to amaze them.

Jack coughed hoarsely and the other Guardians looked at him in concern. "Oh it's nothing, just a punctured lung." He laughed at the other's incredulous looks, "Oh, how can I breathe?" When they nodded he coughed again before speaking, "If I focus enough of my energy I can send ice through my body that seals internal wounds while they heal. It also helps to speed up the process even more. The coughing is just a sign that my lung is re-inflating." He took a couple of deep breaths before suddenly getting lost in deep thought.

All of a sudden Jack broke the silence, "I have a new topic of interest."

"What would that be Sweet Tooth?"

"Why would there be Nightmares in the middle of the Sahara. There aren't even lizards to scare there." The others frowned as they caught onto what Jack was suggesting.

North was the first to offer a reason, "Perhaps they are attracted to sand. Sahara has lots of sand." They all looked at Sandy to see if North's explanation could be possible, after all he is the sandman.

The little man flashed a set of scales equalling out, but it was followed by an 'X' crossing it out.

It was actually Jack who translated, instead of North, "It's a possibility, but you don't think so?" Jack was hesitant, but Sandy nodded his head to show that his translation was accurate.

No one, not even Sandy, could offer a better explanation. They all dropped the subject, although they continued to ponder it individually.

After a while Jack made his excuses to leave, something about a blizzard in Russia. Tooth was soon distracted by her fairies once more and they all returned to their jobs. But there was still that nagging feeling in their gut that told them something was off. 'Why were the Nightmares in the Sahara?'

**Please R&R! Suggestions and criticisms are welcome! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	11. Shoes

**This is a one-shot about why Jack never wears shoes. I have a few arc ideas floating around, so I hope to update soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"Come on Jack, please?" North was begging Jack to wear the blue, silver embroidered shoes that he was presented with when he was chosen to be a Guardian.

"No, North. I don't wear shoes." Jack stared back at North. he was not going to let the Russian guilt him into wearing those ridiculous shoes.

North pleaded with his big, blue eyes, and Jack could feel his resolve waning. His eyes pleaded with Jack and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. They couldn't be that bad.

It was only a few more moments before Jack's resolve gave way completely, "Fine, North, but I will only wear them when I am here at the Pole."

"That is great, Jack! Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!" North jovially walked out of the room, as the Spirit of Winter picked up the shoes that jingled when he moved them.

He slowly put on the shoes, and he gasped. He thought it was the unusual silky feel, but it was so much more.

At dinner that night Jack did not talk as much as usual. North assumed that Jack was just mad that he had guilted the child into wearing the shoes, so he ignored it. Jack was actually just not feeling well. He barely ate before he made his excuses to go and visit Jamie.

As he approached the window he pulled off the shoes and jumped into the arms of his friend Wind. As soon as he was flying, Jack's queasiness vanished and he soared through the air.

Jack was very excited. During the winter months in Burgess Jack always took as many opportunities as he could to visit his first believer.

* * *

The next time Jack put on the shoes, he once again felt a little nauseous. An hour later or so, Jack began to feel pain radiating in his abdomen. He thought the snow would revive him, so he kicked off the shoes, not wanting to ruin them, before jumping out the window. He landed lightly in the snow bank and he did not even to stop to wonder about the cause of his pain in the first place. After a while he flew off to cause mischief in the northern parts of England.

* * *

The next time Jack felt sick again was when he took the shoes to show Jamie. He pranced about the preteen's room, his shoes jingling loudly.

It took Jamie a while before the child could speak past his chuckles, "Jack, you look ridiculous!"

"Yeah, haha. You try saying no to North's puppy dog face. He has huge blue eyes that guilted me into wearing them."

"Wait, it burly Russian Santa can pout?" Jamie looked a little incredulously at Jack.

"Yes," Jack snapped, "he can. And he is very good at it too."

"Fine, fine. I believe you," Jamie conceded, still laughing. "Why don't we go down to the park? We can have a snowball fight!" Jack laughed and nodded his head. He grabbed the child's hand and they rode the wind to the park. Quietly they landed in one of the trees when they noticed others in the park.

Jack smiled at Jamie before he began to form a perfectly round snowball. He was about to take aim at Cupcake's head when he fell out of the tree. The others gathered around Jack as Jamie climbed down from the tree.

"Jamie!" Pippa called out, "What is wrong with Jack?"

"I don't know. He was about to start a snowball fight by ambushing you guys from the trees, but all of a sudden he passed out and fell."

As she was about to respond Jack began to stir. "Jack!" Jamie called out. "Are you okay Jack?"

Jack moaned softly as he began to sit up. "Yeah kiddo. I'm sorry I scared you. I have been pretty tired lately. I just probably spent too much energy on a storm up north. No biggie." Jack slowly rose to his feet. "I should probably go down to the South Pole. I won't be bothered there while I catch up on my sleep. I will see you guys later."

Jack jumped up into the tree to grab his shoes. They had fallen off his feet as he crashed through the tree limbs when he fell. He shouted one last goodbye before jumping into the wind. He spoke softly to the wind, "Wind, take me to the South Pole." He slept lightly as he flew, and when he landed he immediately fell asleep in a nearby pile of snow. When Jack woke up the next day he felt much better, so he returned to Burgess to continue the unfinished snowball fight he had promised.

He played for hours with the children. He laughed as he nailed Jamie in the back of the head.

"No fair Jack!" Jamie called out. "You have a lot more practice."

"You were the one who wanted to have a snowball fight Jamie!" Jack sung out from behind his snow fort. He continued to nail each of the children while they tried to hit him. After a couple of hours, all of the children were exhausted, so Jack said goodbye before leaping into the wind.

"To the South Pole!" Jack sung out happily. He had forgotten the shoes North had given him, so he needed to pick them up before the Guardian meetings in a few hours.

When he grabbed the shoes he realized of he rode the wind he would be late arriving late, so he called deep onto himself. Summoning one of the most natural parts of a Seasonal's power, he called upon his powers of transport. Every seasonal can transport themselves from one place to another, but Jack had always refused the power, shoved it to the back. As the Winter Seasonal he was more carefree than the others, and he found the journey just as important as the destination. He never did use his transport powers unless dire situations arrived. As he began to dissolve from the South Pole and reappear in the Globe room in Santoff Clausen simultaneously, he could feel himself being surrounded in a light amount of powder snow. Every Seasonal left some trace by using their transport powers: Spring left flower petals, Summer left a swirl of grass, Fall left leaves, and Winter left snow.

The others looked up in surprise as the Winter Spirit appeared in a swirl of snow. The boy staggered forward a step before regaining his usual balance and grace. "Hey guys," Jack said casually as he took his place around the table along with the other Guardians.

"Mate, since when could you do that?" Bunny looked curiously at the Winter Spirit.

"You mean the transporting thing?" When Bunny nodded Jack continued, "Well I guess I always could. But Autumnalia only taught me how to use the power until about a century and a half ago. I never use it that much, takes too much concentration and energy. I had rode the wind for most of my life already anyway, so I never used the power much. And, I hate to skip the journey in order to get to the destination, so I only use it when I need to be somewhere really soon."

Jack slipped on the shoes underneath the table, knowing that it would secretly please all the Guardians, along with North, to see that he was wearing the shoes they presented him. He suddenly felt tired again, and he wondered if it was because his transporting or something else. He tried to focus as the others reported during their turn in the meeting, but Jack had a hard time understanding them.

"Jack. Jack? Jack!" The others were growing increasingly worried as they noticed how far off the spirit looked.

"Wha'" he slurred. "It's alright. 'm just tired." As the child finishes speaking he falls unconscious and slips off the chair, only to be caught by Bunny. Bunnymund chuckled as he carried the child up to his room, like the others he assumed the child was exhausted due to his transporting.

Once again they were all wrong.

* * *

Bunny knocked on the child's door the following morning, but he was alarmed as the lack of response. He pushed open the heavy oaken door and looked inside. The child was laying in the exact position in which Bunny left him. He tried waking up the child, but there was no response. He rushed to go get the other Guardians. When they returned with him, Jack had still not moved. They immediately took Jack outside and laid him in the snow.

"Crickey! We don't even know what's wrong with the kid!"

"Why is Jack not waking?" North was watching the child for any movement, but Jack never even twitched a muscle.

"I thought the kid was supposed to be healed by snow, but it's not doing anything for him!" Bunny began to pace as they waited for Jack to awake or even move.

All of a sudden they were distracted by a rustling of leaves next to them. In a moment they were being pushed out of the way as Autumnalia rushed to Jack's side. He tore off the shoes and threw them to the side.

"What were you thinking?" he yelled at the Guardians. "Why was Jack wearing shoes?!" The spirit sounded very mad, but the Guardians just looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, Fall?" Bunny was not happy with Autumnalia's brusqueness.

"I mean, why was Jack wearing shows? He should know what that does to him, to any Seasonal!"

"Not clearing anything up mate." Bunny began tapping his foot impatiently.

"Seasonals don't wear shoes for a reason. A couple of days ago, the other Seasonals and I began to notice a faltering connection with Jack. We assumed it was some injury because a similar feeling happens when one of us is incapacitated, but it kept coming and going. But yesterday we couldn't feel him at all, so I began to search for him. I finally thought to come here."

"Still haven't explained why wearing shoes is so bad."

"When we wear shoes it cuts off our connection with Mother Nature. It causes us to begin to feel sick, and it only gets worse and worse. It even cuts off our abilities to use our powers. That is why Jack wasn't healing in the snow, it's because the snow didn't recognize him. Eventually we die because even our own element can't help us. It also strains the connections between the Seasonals. We don't know what happens to each other at all times, but we do know when one of us is sick or injured. But even at those times we have some sort of connection with the injured party, the only time we have absolutely no connection with one another is when we are cut off from Mother Nature. If I hadn't guessed correctly about where to find Jack he would have died because we can't locate each other without our connection to the Earth."

At that moment Jack began to revive, "Hey, 'nalia. What's up?"

"What's up is you nearly killed yourself. Why were you wearing shoes?"

"Why? Am I not supposed to?"

"No, Jack. You're not. I thought you knew that wearing shoes literally kills us? I thought that was why you never wore them?"

"No, I never wore shoes because I never felt the need to go and get a pair. No one ever told me that if I wore them I would become sick." Jack looked exasperatedly at Autumnalia.

"Oh, yeah. I guess that is kind of my fault. It's not like Trilily or Solera would tell you, so I guess it would have to have been me." Autumnalia looked a little apologetically at Jack, "Oops."

"No problem 'nalia. At least you caught your mistake in time." Jack smiled at Autumnalia mischievously, "Do you want to go give Trilily a hard time?" The Spirit of Fall just grinned at Jack in return. Both spirits held their arms out to the sides, Jack's left holding his staff, and they closed their eyes. Moments later the spirits began to disappear in a swirl of leaves and snow.

**Pease R&R! Suggestions and criticisms are welcome! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	12. Shadows Prologue

**This is just a short prologue for an upcoming arc I hope to publish soon. This is a continuation for a one-shot I wrote earlier, 'Heat'. You may or may not want to reread it. You can probably just read the end and understand the connection.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Pitch sat in the shadows in his lair and chuckled. Two of his Nightmares had just informed him about the battle in the Sahara. They had escaped the battle inform their master about their findings. He wanted to test the Spirit of Winter, to see where his weaknesses lie. He had guessed that the spirit would not do well in the heat, but he had never expected the spirit to flat out loose energy and pass out. Pitch now knew that the little upstart, Jack Frost, the bitter spirit that refused him had a weakness. And Pitch knew exactly how to use that weakness. He laughed again, Jack Frost was going to pay for what he did.

**Please R&R! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	13. Shadows Pt 1

**This is a little short, but this is the first part of the Shadows arc. This arc will have lots of Hurt!Jack for those type of people. I actually have a list of a few story ideas I came up with. I love to read reviews! Enjoy! :)**

**I want to thank Cat Girl ****1995, especially. Her and I have been discussing different things, and I recommend her stories to all of my readers. I want to also thank some of my other faithful reviewers********: AyameKitsune and Breyannia.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Jack was flying through the air and boy did he feel great. He was just at another monthly Guardian meeting, and he had pulled the greatest joke on Bunnymund. He was still laughing at the image of Bunnymund covered in sparkles. He touched down lightly on the icy surface of his lake. He skated across the surface, creating intricate patterns with his staff.

An hour or so later, after thoroughly coating his lake in ice, Jack went to visit Jamie. He tapped on the teen's window. It was actually Jamie's thirteenth birthday today and he promised to take the boy night skating. Jamie appeared a moment later and he lifted the sash, so Jack could enter.

As the Immortal Child touched down, Jamie ran up to him, "Jack! I am so glad to see you!"

"Hey kiddo," Jack said as he was forced to take a step back as the teen hugged him. "It's great to see you again. And happy birthday."

"Jack," Jamie whined, "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Yes you are." Jack was laughing at the kid's complaints.

"If I am a kid than so are you. I mean you can't even be that much older than me!"

"Actually, I am kiddo. This," Jack said while gesturing to the rest of him, "was just how old I was when I became a spirit. I am actually 315 years old. So yes, that does make you a kid." Jack smirked at Jamie's dumbfounded expression.

"Oh," was all the child could say.

"Okay, time to go." Jack stepped out of Jamie's window onto the roof outside and gestured for Jamie to do likewise. "Okay Jamie, if you hold onto my hand then Wind will carry you as well."

"Wait. You don't actually fly?"

"No, I don't actually fly. The wind and I are very friendly and she agreed to carry me around. Now grab my hand."

After Jamie grabbed his hand he called out to the wind, "Wind! Take us to the lake, please!" When he heard the whispering of the wind in his ear he knew it was okay with the extra passenger. In the next second he and Jamie raced down the roof and jumped into the wind. The teen shouted in excitement as they zoomed over the forest. A moment later they were set down lightly on their feet next to the lake.

"Wait, Jack," Jamie sounded a little upset, "I didn't bring my skates."

Relieved Jack said to Jamie, "There is no need for skates. I made the ice so glassy that you can skate in your sneakers." Jamie too looked relieved. Soon the two were skating across the ice.

"Jack," Jack's head snapped up at the worry in Jamie's voice, "Why are the shadows getting closer?"

Jack looked around him, and saw that Jamie was right. The shadows were definitely getting closer by the second. Understanding dawned in his eyes, and in the next second he surrounded Jamie in a fortress of ice.

"Jack?" the boy sounded really scared, "What is going on?"

"Everything is alright Jamie. We are just getting a visit from a not so nice spirit."

"Jack, I'm scared."

"I know Jamie, but you are safe in the ice. It ill protect you." Jack kept looking around him as the shadows continued to approach.

He activated the tiny alarm that was hidden inside his sweatshirt. The other Guardians insisted upon it after the last interaction with Pitch. Actually they insisted upon a lot of new safety precautions, but Jack refused many of them. He finally agreed to checking in with one of them every couple of days, and they installed a secret alarm system in his sweatshirt. Right now he was really happy to be able to discreetly activate the alarm without warning Pitch.

As he stared into the shadows, Pitch walked forward out of its depths. "Do you really think a little ice will protect the boy?" Pitch called out mockingly. All of a sudden Nightmares surrounded the ice that encased Jamie. "Oh," he said with pleasure, "the child's fear is just so good. My nightmares are attracted to the rich scent." The. nightmares began to knicker impatiently.

"Stay away from him Pitch." Jack nearly snarled in anger.

"Ooh, you are a feisty spirit aren't you." Pitch chuckled before smiling darkly.

"Pitch, if you even touch Jamie, then you will pay."

Pitch just chuckled before he was forced to dodge the shards of ice hurtling towards him. When Jack went to strike again his ice was met with sand, and chunks of black ice fell to the ground. Jack wasted no time and he continued shooting ice at Pitch, who in turn retaliated with black sand. Jack shot pure cold at Pitch, on hopes that the trick would work and freeze the man I his tracks. He was disappointed to see Pitch Black slice through attack with his sand.

"Nightmares attack!" he yelled, and they dark horses began to a attack the ice surrounding Jamie. Jack heard the cracks in the ice and he tried to run to Jamie, but he was forced to face the attacks from Pitch.

"What's wrong, Jackie boy? Is your friend in trouble?" Jack spun around once agains, as he heard the ice threaten to crack completely.

"Pitch! Stop this! Leave Jamie alone. It's me you want," Jack called out desperately. He could not let Jamie get hurt because of him.

Pitch nodded to his Nightmares, and they stopped their attack. "Fine, Frost. Are you willing to come with me without a fight?"

Jack nodded his head in defeat. He ignored Jamie's cries for him to stop as he walked to stand next to Pitch. Pitch held his hand out, and Jack surrendered his staff. As he expected, Pitch Black snapped the staff in half and Jack collapsed to the ground in pain. It felt as if his whole body had been torn in half.

As he rolled onto his back he saw the sleigh appear in the sky. He sighed, content knowing that with the rest of the Guardians here Jamie would be safe. Jack wasn't stupid enough to think that Pitch would call of the Nightmares when he left. As the sleigh landed, he and Pitch began to melt into the shadows.

Jack called out one last thing, before he disappeared completely, "Protect Jamie," with that he he blacked out completely.

**Please R&R! I love to read reviews! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	14. Shadows Pt 2

**This is Pt 2 of my Shadows arc. This part is from the views of the different Guardians. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"Well, that was fun. I have to go now, I am going night skating with Jamie for his thirteenth birthday." With that the young Guardian jumped out into the wind, his carefree laugh floating back to the ears of the rest of the Guardians.

"How is he still so careless."

"Bunny," Tooth scolded him, "you know he isn't careless. He is just lighthearted. It has done him well so far. So why try to ground him, when he flies so high? Think about it. Think about how bad his life is now, let alone if he saw everything seriously. He has been beaten up, taunted, mistreated, and ignored for over three centuries." The others sobered at the truth in Tooth's words.

"Well anyway Sheila, I don't think it would be remiss of me to ask for a few less pranks."

"You may be right there Bunny, but just remember he is the Guardian of Joy and Fun."

"Point Tooth." North announced, and Sandy showed a tally board above his head with Tooth ahead of Bunny by several marks. It also showed the other Guardians; Jack was ahead of everyone by a large number of marks, North was in second, Tooth was in third, Bunny was in fourth, and Sandy was in last.

"Wait, Sandy. When did she get seven points ahead of me?"

Sandy just looked at Bunny and shrugged. It was possible his count was off, but he liked Bunny flustered and just laughed at his incredulity at being next to last in the count. A few moments later he felt the tug of his dreams and as he was called to his responsibilities. He made a few sand figures above his head and the other Guardians nodded in understanding, aside from Jack occasionally, Sandy was always the first to leave. His job could only be done by one person, unlike Tooth, and was year-round, unlike North and Bunnymund. Jack was the only other Guardian with similar responsibilities, but he did have a few sprites and certain months were more hectic than others. He waved to the other Guardians as he floated onto his dream cloud and left.

Tooth was the next Guardian to leave because Baby Tooth had to sleep sometime and Tooth had to return to directing the little fairies. She was soon surrounded by the little green fairies, and she gave a hasty goodbye before flying off to the Tooth Palace.

Bunnymund didn't have to actually leave just yet. It was late October and it was months before the rush of Easter preparations. Instead he went upstairs to try and get all of the sparkles out of his fur. Cursing the Spirit of Winter under his breath.

North just sat in his large red recliner next to the fire. He happily sipped on his eggnog and ate some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. He always enjoyed the monthly Guardian meetings, he enjoyed spending the time with everyone else. The only thing he wish was different was that everyone could spend time together without a meeting or some other catastrophe having to occur first.

An hour or so later, North was studying the globe with the different lights that represented the Guardians. The green and red ones were at the pole. The purple one was in Canada, and the golden one was over the England area. The only problem was the blue one. All of a sudden it began to flash red and North instantly activated the Northern lights. It was only minutes later that all of the Guardians had assembled, except for Jack.

"North," Tooth said as she flew in, "What is wrong? And where is Jack?"

"That is exactly the problem. Jack has activated his emergency alert. We must go now." The others ran, or in some cases flew, behind North as they struggled to keep up with the Russian's pace. He barely even waited for the others to get in the sleigh before he took off. A moment later they appeared above the lake in Burgess, after traveling through one of North's snow globe portals.

They landed on the ground next to the lake. As they got out they saw Jack, collapsed on the ground next to Pitch Black. He looked up at them, and the others' hearts broke at the pain in his ice blue eyes. He called out one last thing before he blacked out, "Protect Jamie." In the next second Jack and Pitch were gone. The Guardians were in shock until they saw the Nightmares attack a structure of ice nearby. Bunny could faintly hear a child crying inside.

"Come on mates! Jamie is underneath that ice!" With that Bunnymund and the other Guardians attacked the Nightmares and they were all gone in a few minutes. They could still hear Jamie's sobs, but they were unable to think of a way to get the boy out of the ice, that is until a winter breeze tickled their necks.

The Guardians spun around when they heard the flat, monotone voice, "Why was I summoned here?" Icean was staring at them bored, her foot tapping the ice impatiently.

"Wait. You were summoned?" Tooth stepped forward confused, none of them could summon any winter sprite.

"Yes, about ten minutes ago. I was busy with my responsibilities elsewhere to come any earlier."

"Ten minutes ago," Tooth murmur before she realized what it meant. "Jack must have summoned you to help him, but you didn't show up in time. But you can at least help us now."

"And what can I help you with?"

"Jack created that ice structure," Tooth said pointing to where Jamie was hidden, "to protect the boy inside, but we are unable to get him out. Is there any way you can break it open without harming the child inside?"

Icean nearly scoffed after she examined the structure, "I never knew Jack was capable of thought. He actually created a structure that is easy to break off if you are pulling on it, but extremely hard to break into. So say a Nightmare were to attack it they would have a pretty hard time, but if I were to just do this," with a flick of her wrist she tore of half the structure, "it comes off without a problem. Now I will leave, please tell Jack to summon someone else next time." And with that Icean disappeared in a swirl of snow.

Once she was gone, Bunny rushed over and picked up Jamie who was still crying quietly. "Hey, ankle-biter. What happened?"

It was a couple of minutes before Jamie could talk, even then it was very quietly, "Jack came to take me night skating, but something was wrong. I noticed that the shadows were getting closer, and the next second I was enclosed in a fortress of ice. Jack told me that someone who wasn't very nice decided to stop by. Then I heard him and the other person begin to fight before the horses began to attack the ice protecting me. They were getting really close to breaking in when Jack told the other man to stop, and the horses, stopped as well. Jack told the other man that he would surrender if the other man left me alone. The next thing I heard was Jack cry of pain, I don't even think he knew he made a sound. It sounded like he was in soo much pain." Jamie's voice caught briefly, and he took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, "Then you guys arrived, but you were too late."

Jamie began to cry again as Bunny tried to soothe him. Eventually Bunny looked up at Sandy, and the Sandman trickled some of his golden sand on the boy's head. They watched with a bittersweet expression as the scene above Jamie's head transformed into a group of kids ice skating.

"Tooth will you take the ankle-biter home? I think he has had enough excitement for one day." Tooth nodded and she came over and gently lifted Jamie from Bunny's arms. She flew off towards Burgess and returned only ten minutes later.

"I can't believe Pitch is back. It has only been three years since we last defeated him, he must be working with someone else."

"I agree with Bunny," North exclaimed, talking for the first time since arriving. "Pitch should be weak, he must have someone helping him." Suddenly a light came into North's eyes, and he pulled a snow globe out of his pocket. "Maybe we can track Jack using Guardian globe!" But the light died from eyes as he stared at it intently. "We cannot. Jack's power is focused through his staff, and the power is what the globe tracts. Since Jack's staff is broken, we cannot track him." North stared dejectedly at the globe before putting it back in his pocket.

Tooth stared up at the moon, "I swear Jack, we will find you. Oh my poor Sweet Tooth, be strong."

**Please R&R! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	15. Shadows Pt 3

**This is the third part of my shadows arc. I know it has been a few days, sorry. I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Jack woke up with groan. His whole body felt broken, and his head pounded in pain. It wasn't this bad last time, but after thinking about it he knew why. The last time his staff broke he had to make a stronger connection with the staff in order to fix it. He shuddered, thinking about how much energy it would take to repair the staff this time, and what would happen to him next time it was broken. He thought it was very likely that he wouldn't survive his conduit being broken again.

He moaned again as he tried to roll onto his side. That was when he heard the dark chuckle from the other side of what he guessed was a room.

"Are you a little sore, Jackie-boy?" Pitch Black chuckled gain as he walked over to stand next to Jack. He kicked Jack viciously in the ribs, which caused the young spirit to lose his breath as well as moan once more, and it also cursed him to notice that he was bare chested.

Pitch gestured with his hand for someone else to enter Jack's line of sight, "I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Valkyrie."

Jack looked over as a woman with flowing black hair stepped into view. She was terrifyingly beautiful. Her eyes had irises that were a fiery red with black pupils, her lips were blood red, and skin was as pale as Jack's. She smiled and Jack saw that her perfect white teeth were pointed and sharp like knives. She was wearing a black corset with red lace that accentuated her curvaceous figure. Her skirt went down half a foot before it was cut short. Her legs were a mile long and well muscled. Her heeled, mid-calf boots were red with black laces up in the front. She wore a blood red cape with two large slits that allowed her pure black wings to protrude.

"I have heard a lot about you, Jack Frost." She smiled sinisterly.

"Really? I haven't heard anything about you though?" Although Jack could barely speak, he was going to be insulting and sarcastic till the end.

Valkyrie only chuckled in response, "You don't want to upset me Jack Frost."

"What makes you think that? I love to play games, I especially love to play with peoples' temperaments. They have the best outcomes."

"Jack Frost, you should be careful. I am the spirit that takes the lives of those who are killed in battle. I take no mercy, and very few are deserving of quick endings. And, Jack Frost, you are not one of them."

Jack screamed as she raked her black nails down his face. He felt cold blood seep down his face. His throat was hoarse when she stopped her slow torture. The blood dripped onto the floor as she stepped back and wiper her nails off on her black skirt. The swirls of blood looked natural on her, fitting in with her devilish appearance.

"Goodbye, Jack." She sauntered out of the room, giving her black wings a little ruffle as she walked away.

"She was in a good mood," Pitch remarked casually as he walked back over to stand next to Jack. "She isn't normally so nice with her punishments."

"What does she have against me anyways?" Jack grunted.

"Do you know how much a Guardian's soul is worth? Well, I guess 'worth' wouldn't be the word. Do you know how much power a Guardian's soul carries? When Sandy died in battle, for we were at war with each other, she gained a large amount of power. But when you and those snot nosed brats revived him, she lost a lot of that power. Now she wants to take revenge on you. And she is going to take her time to torture you because she won't gain any power by killing you, we rant at war. But she will thoroughly enjoy the pain she will inflict upon you." With that Pitch smiled devilishly and left the room, leaving Jack to moan in pain. He almost considered it a victory when he passed out a minute later.

Jack awoke to a singsong voice right next to his ear, "What up Jackie-boy! It's time to have a little fun!" Jack opened his eyes to see Valkyrie squatting next to him, smiling like a vixen. Jack felt dried blood caking his face, and he noticed that his hair was stained red where it came in contact with the pool of blood surrounding his head.

"Cat got your tongue?" She chuckled at Jack's refusal to speak with her. "It's okay sweetie, I have other ways to make you squeal."

She grabbed something above his head, and Jack heard the clanking of metal. He felt her putting the shackles around his wrists, which were now suspended slightly above the rest of his body. She went off somewhere to his right and he heard her begin to crank something. He nearly screamed as his body was slowly pulled up wards by his wrists, but he bit his lip so she could not take any pleasure in his pain. The process of lifting his whole body off the ground until not even his feet touched floor, was long and extremely painful. His whole body screamed in agony, and his wrists were already rubbed raw from the metal cuffs, and he felt the blood drip from the open sores.

"That is much better, Jackie-boy. Now I can see your whole pathetic body."

"If I am so pathetic, then how was I able to steal a soul from you?" Jack smiled, and his white teeth clashed with the blood on his face and the darkness of the room.

"Did you not learn your lesson yesterday Frost?" She lashed out with a whip that she had coiled behind her back. Jack couldn't help his scream as the rope bit into his flesh. "You are not the first spirit to cross me though. The others were much stronger than you, but they all broke. I watched as their spirits lost all hope, as they all gave up. They would all die soon after, hope was the only thing keeping them alive. None of them lasted more than a day or two. I don't even expect you to last a couple hours. Before I have my fun though, Pitch wants a turn. He wants you to feel his pain, before I desensitize you to the world." She whipped Jack once again before she left, Jack moaning in pain in the background.

Pitch entered the room, his hands inside his robes. As Jack watched him, Pitch pulled out a small silver lighter. He flicked it on and held it near the winter spirit's wounds on his chest. Jack squirmed and tried to get away from the burning flame. Even with the lighter a couple inches away from his chest his body felt like it was boiling. He could feel the energy being sapped from his body by the tiny little flame.

"If this makes you squirm, I can't wait for you to see what I have planned for you next." Pitch Black chuckled as he pulled out a thin, short, dull blade. He held the knife over the lighter flame, and Jack watched as the blade tip turned a bright cherry red.

Jack screamed as Pitch carved lightly into Jack's torso, not deep enough to cut into muscle, but extremely painful. There wasn't even any blood because the wound was cauterized by the heat of the blade. That didn't help the other lacerations crossing his chest though, they continued to stain his pants and drip onto the floor.

"I have had my fun for now, I rather enjoy watching Valkyrie make you scream. She is much more creative." Pitch chuckled as he walked out of the room. Jack's head slumped forward in exhaustion, the heat of his own body was draining him of his energy. He moaned when he heard the soft clicking of Valkyrie's boots.

"Did you miss me Jack?" She lashed her whip against the wall next to Jack's head. Jack barely even flinched due to his exhaustion. "Oh, is my poor Jackie tired? I can fix that." She lashed out with her whip and Jack felt a new laceration on his cheek. She took pleasure from the boys groans as she whipped every inch of his body.

She was thoroughly unnerved when she heard the Immortal Child chuckle, "Why are you laughing?" she demanded. "Your spirit should have broken by now."

"That's just it. You can't steal my spirit. I know the Guardians will come to me. And as long as there is one child, even an immortal one that is their friend, they will protect them from people like you. I will never break, and I will never give you the satisfaction you are searching for."

Valkyrie laughed softly, "We will see about that."

The next few hours were absolute torture for Jack. Valkyrie used many different methods of torture, eliciting moans of pain and screams from Jack's hoarse throat. He was covered in gashes, blood coated his skin and pants, and the burning in his body was unbearable. He had acquired a dislocated shoulder that screamed at his every move, and his right knee was smashed into oblivion. He gained multiple broken ribs when Valkyrie used him as a punching bag for her kickboxing practice. His jaw was probably fractured from when she got tired of his snide remarks, and she hit him in the face with a bat. Luckily though, none of his teeth were damaged.

At the end of the day she grabbed his broken jaw and forced his head up. She looked into his eyes and screeched. The little brat's spirit was still unbroken, even if the rest of him wasn't. In the next second she spun around as the door to the room was slammed open.

**Please R&R! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	16. Shadows Pt 4

**This is the fourth part of my Shadows arc. I am planning on writing one more chapter. I love to read everyone's reviews. It gives me the encouragement to continue writing. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"We should head back to Pole. Make a plan." North's voice was very gruff with emotion, all of the Guardian's were affected by Jack's kidnapping. They were all very somber as they walked back to the sleigh. Bunny didn't even complain about North's driving as they went through the portal back to Santoff Clausen or North's unusually sloppy landing.

They were all in the Globe room. North was sitting in his large, red armchair, dejectedly drinking some eggnog. Tooth was flitting about worriedly, while directing some of her fairies. Bunnymund was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself all the while. Sandy was sitting by the window a frown upon his face as he sent out tendrils of his golden dreamsand. He was startled when suddenly a young girl appeared, hovering next to the window. She gestured to be allowed inside and he complied. The other Guardians looked over as she thanked him softly before touching down on the floor.

She was another young beautiful girl, like Icean, she looked to be in her mid-twenties with alabaster skin. Her white hair was cut in a bob and the tips were dyed light blue. Her dark blue eyes twinkled, and her teeth were snow white. Her dress was deep blue and made of a thick plush fabric. It hugged her upper body, but flared out at the hips and fell short at the knees. It was trimmed in what appeared to be white fur, but turned out to be snow. She wore shoes of ice that reflected the light. Here expression was one of slight worry mixed with deep thought.

"Who might you be Sheila?" Bunny had stopped his pacing and stared at the new spirit.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Krystel. I am a sprite of crystalline water forms like snow, but I mostly just control the weather for the North Pole. Where is my Lord?"

"Your Lord? Do you mean Frosty?"

"My Lord, the Winter King, is indeed Jack Frost, although I shall refrain from calling him such a familiar nickname."

"Oh, well...something has come up and he has been...detained." Bunny tested the word silently laughing at the irony behind its meaning.

The spirit stared suspiciously at the Guardian of Hope, "What do you mean 'detained'?" There was a hint of challenge to her tone.

"I mean that he has been kidnapped."

"What?!" she screeched. "By whom?!"

"Pitch Black and probably an accomplice."

"Wait. Since when has Jack been involved with Pitch Black? As far as I knew they were indifferent towards each other."

"A few years back, when Jack became a Guardian, we went to war with Pitch and his army of Nightmares."

"Tell me everything that happened. Now." Her tone left no room for Bunny to refuse, so he complied.

"When Manny told us that Jack was going to be the next Guardian we summoned him to the Pole. While we were there, Pitch attacked the Tooth Palace. He stole most of the teeth and all but one of Toothiana's fairies. Pitch made an appearance himself, but he soon scuttled off into the shadows. Jack agreed to help us because he wanted to see his own memories, the ones from before he was Jack Frost. At first we decided to collect the teeth ourselves, but we were still losing believers. In a little mix up all, but Jack and Sandy, were put to sleep. While we were asleep Sandy and Jack chased a couple Nightmares. Before we were able to arrive they were in the middle of an army and Pitch appeared as well. Pitch shot Sandy with a dark arrow and Sandy was taken over by the powers of darkness and fear." Krystel looked curiously at the Sandman, but she did not interrupt Bunnymund.

"Jack was so mad that he released his full powers and destroyed the Nightmares. We were all very upset and we held a memorial for Sandy. We had almost lost all hope, but Easter was in a day, so we went back to my Warren to paint eggs. A girl snuck into my Warren from the little mix up, but when we were done Jack took her back home. While he was gone we were attacked by Nightmares and they destroyed all of my googies. Easter was ruined. When Jack got back I accused him of ruining Easter because he had somehow got his teeth back from Pitch. He went away for a while because we were upset with him. Later on he revealed that Pitch had lured him with his teeth, stole Baby Tooth, and sent him back to the Guardians, but too late. Jack went down to Antarctica because that was his refuge. Pitch appeared down there and tried to convince Jack to join him, but Jack refused. He threatened to kill Baby Tooth unless Jack handed over his staff, and Jack complied. Somehow Baby Tooth was thrown down an ice crevasse and Jack joined her with his now broken staff. Baby Tooth helped him regain his memories from his teeth and he realized that he was the Guardian of Fun. He somehow fixed his staff and went and found the last believer. He convinced the boy and his friends to believe in us, as well Jack himself, and we went to confront Pitch. When the children touched the sand it turned golden again, so Jack told everyone to do it. Then we summoned our helpers to fight the Nightmares while we fought Pitch. Jack was severely hurt, but Sandy reformed and finished off beating up Pitch. We took Jack back to the Pole and eventually he healed. That's about it."

A look of horror entered her eyes a few minutes later. "You did say it was Jack that told the children to touch the Nightmares? And that did result in the rebirth of the Sandman?"

"Yes and yes."

"God damn it! I know who Pitch's accomplice is. And you are not going to like it."

"Well who is it?"

"It is Valkyrie." Sandy's eyes opened wide in horror, but the others continued to stare at her, "She is the spirit of those who die in battle. Think about it. Sandy died in battle, that would be a huge power boost for Valkyrie. But Jack taught the others how to bring him back, he stole that power from Valkyrie when Sandy reformed."

"Oh, no. She is going to be very mad." Tooth began to hover worriedly once again.

"Calm down, Sheila. We will find him, now on to another thing. Why are you here Krystel?"

"My Lord has been summoning the winter sprites, but none of us know why. I thought I would come here and try to look for him. It's a very faint call, like he is doing unconsciously which he probably is. A seasonal spirit will call for their helpers when they are in dire circumstances, I doubt he even knows he is doing it."

"Is there any way for you to trace the summons?" North stepped forward excitedly.

"Not alone, but I think if a small group of us can. Let me call my brethren." A moment or two later a group of winter sprites all had white hair cut to different lengths, and blue eyes. Their skin was white, and they all wore some type of blue and white clothing or clothes made directly from snow or ice.

A young male stepped forward. His hair was similar to Jack's, but his eyes were a very deep shade of blue. His shirt was white and baggy, but tied tight with twine around the wrists and waist. He wore blue leggings and light brown moccasins. He was well built, and, like all the other winter sprites, he looked to be in his mid-twenties.

"Krystel, why have you summoned us? Is it to do with our Lord's summons?"

"Yes, Frieze. Our Lord is calling subconsciously because he has been kidnapped by Pitch Black and Valkyrie." The other sprites heads snapped up at the mention of Jack's kidnapping. "We must combine our powers and trace the call."

The spirits joined hands and sat in a circle. Their heads bowed until their chins touched their chests. A moment later a bright blue light appeared in the middle of their circle. Frieze spoke softly, "Guardians enter out portal. It shall take you directly to our Lord. Bring him here quickly, he will need our healing abilities. Go quickly! We cannot keep up this gateway much longer." The Guardians quickly complied, careful not to break the circle as they entered the portal.

* * *

They reappeared in a dark hallway, and Bunny twitched his nose. "Mates," he said softly, "We are in some type of underground tunnel." They crept forward quietly until they reached a door. Bunnymund held three fingers up and when he counted down to one he kicked in the door.

What they saw horrified them. A spirit dressed in black and red was standing next to Jack. Jack was shackled and chained to the wall, injuries littering his whole body. The spirit had a bloody whip rolled up and attached to her waist, and other instruments of torture were strewn about her. She whirled around as the door slammed open with rage on her face.

The vision of the Guardians turned red and a couple of minutes they stepped away from the spirit Valkyrie to see the damage. The woman was now laying on the ground coughing up blood, while other cuts and bruises littered her face. She was not harmed too severely, but neither did the Guardians go light on her.

They stepped away with disgust and hurried over to Jack. Tooth picked the locks that were around his wrists and feet within seconds, but the Guardians didn't even question it. Bunny caught Jack as he fell and he was alarmed by the obscene amount of blood on and around the boy.

North pulled out a snow globe, "I say Santoff Clausen, the infirmary." They all jumped through the portal as it appeared in front of them.

When the reappeared in the infirmary they all began to shiver. The temperature of the room had to be subzero and all of the winter sprites were either focusing intently or bustling about the room. Frieze took Jack from Bunny's arms and laid him on abed of pure ice. Three other sprites joined him and they placed their hands lightly across his torn up body. Ice began to spread across his entire figure until no part of him was left untouched by the ice.

"I am sorry we have ignored you," Krystel turned towards the Guardians as this process was finished, "but in order to assess the damage we need to freeze all the functions of Jack's body. It will have no averse affects on him, quite to the contrary it should help his body heal. Please try not to interrupt as we treat him."

It was another spirit that began to talk next, but the Guardians knew not who she was, "Frieze write things down as I call them out." She placed her hands on the boys chest as she willed her powers to sense inside of Jack's body, "Thirteen injured ribs: six fractured, three broken, and four bruised. One lung punctured and collapsed. He has deep lacerations covering his chest and severe burns. He has some intestinal damage. His knee has been shattered and the lower bones in the left leg have been fractured. His feet have been burned and scalded. His left shoulder has been dislocated and aggravated. His right hand is broken along with his left collarbone. His jaw is fractured, and there is a hairline fracture to his skull. He has other gashes covering face, torso, arms, and legs." The spirit opened her eyes and stepped backwards shaking uncontrollably. She turned to Sandman, "He is in too much pain to treat while awake. I beg you to please make sure he remains asleep." Sandy nodded his head and sent a trickle of golden sand towards the boy.

They other Guardians watched in horror as the spirits set and stitched up Jack with pure ice and snow. It took nearly three hours till all the work was done.

Krystel stepped away from her fellow spirits, "The work is done. We would appreciate if the Sandman would keep him asleep for two to three days. He is not allowed up for at least a week, but after then make sure he is sent to sleep in the snow. It will help to heal him as well as calm him. Allow him some water to play with or else his powers will build up until he explodes with raw force. We wouldn't want a repeat of that. We will be staying here at the Pole for a few days. We must rest in the Arctic conditions because we spent a lot of power to trace Jack as well as heal him. We have iced over his injuries, in and out, and it should speed up the process. If you need anything please just open a window and call out for a person of winter." Her and the rest of the spirits drifted out of the window before disappearing in the snowstorm that had been raging outside ever since Jack returned. All of the emotions of the sprites had been raging and therefor the weather acted similarly.

The Guardians sat around the room, bundled in blankets, ready to wait out he long haul.

**Please R&R! I love reading reviews. Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	17. Shadows Pt 5

**This will be the final part of my Shadows arc! I am really sorry it has taken me sooo long to update, I feel really bad. I will try to continue to update as quickly as I can. Please review. I have also alluded to my next Drabble at the end, if you want to give me some of your own ideas please PM me! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

It was Bunnymund's turn to watch over Jack. After a couple of hours of waiting together watching over his sleeping form they decided to take shifts. That was a day ago and Bunny was now on his third shift watching over Jack. It was pretty uneventful. He laid there encased in ice. Occasionally a winter sprite would come in and check on Jack's status or re freeze some of the ice.

He was beginning to feel a little bored, but he knew that they couldn't leave Jack alone. The child had been all alone as hew was mercilessly tortured for hours. Bunny couldn't help but wince at the thought of what pain Jack had gone through. The whipping alone was more than any man or normal spirit could take, but not Jack. Jack was whipped, beaten, burned, cut, and cauterized by various weapons. The kid was more of a man than he would ever be, not that he would admit it to anyone.

Jack groaned softly, pulling Bunny's attention away from his wandering thoughts. He glanced over worriedly, and saw Jack shifting restlessly. He grabbed a bag of golden sand from the table next to Jack's head and sprinkled a small bit on the child. He breathed a sigh of relief as Jack stopped shifting around.

Bunnymund secretly cared for Jack. He was like the little brother he never wanted. Jack was constantly teasing him and playing pranks. He would always visit at least once a year, just to freeze the Warren and hide while Bunny rants. The kid really was family, and he would never forgive himself for allowing this much harm to come to him. It was especially bad because Jack was harmed because he protected the Guardians in their time of need, even when only one child believed. Jack was the reason Sandy was reborn, but now he is paying for it, again!

First he is dealt a devastating injury that would take over a week to heal because of its combination with his staff being broken and fixed! Now he is being hinted down by a crazy chick that wants to torture him! It wasn't even the kid's fault! He is just being a good person and here he is getting injured for others.

Bunny slowly worked himself up into a fury until he was pacing the room. This had happened several times before, so he just slouched down into the chair by Jack's bed once again. A few minutes later, while Bunnymund was brooding, Frieze came in through the open window.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but I must check on the progress of his injuries." Bunny nodded his head as he got out of his chair and took a few steps back.

It was best to give the sprites their room as they worked. Many of them weren't friendly, especially the ice sprites. Bunnymund assumed their attitude was just part of their wintry personas. It seemed that Jack is one of the few winter spirits and sprites that actually has a sense of humor. The one time Bunny tried to crack a joke when one of the sprites was checking on Jack they just stared at Bunny, which made him very uncomfortable. Bunny was pulled from his wayward thoughts as Frieze addressed him.

"My Lord shall awake in a few hours. Do not allow him to walk without assistance. Take him outside frequently, the snow will do him good. Please make sure he sleeps a lot, and that he doesn't escape." With that he jumped out the window into the swirling snow outside.

* * *

_A day or so later..._

Bunny offered to watch over Jack until he awoke, so North just grudgingly agreed and continued making his ice sculpture toys. Bunny wanted to be the one to be there for Jack, he felt horrible that they had not found the boy earlier. He was also had quite a few questions for the young spirit, but those could wait.

It was now a few hours after frieze visited Jack, and Bunny was a little anxious. The Winter King had suffered a large amount of torture before they were able to rescue him. He wanted to make sure that none of the winter sprites had missed any of his injuries. He also wanted to see how the boy was holding up after enduring hours of torture, something like that could really break a man's spirit, let alone a child's.

Bunny sat up when Jack's face contorted with pain, but it relaxed soon after. Bunny noticed that he was beginning to stir a little bit, but he had yet to speak. About ten or fifteen minutes later a low moan escaped the young spirit's mouth. After a couple of minutes Jack's eyelids began to flutter open. He groaned again and squinted at the bright light in the infirmary.

"Hey mate, it's good to see you awake again." Bunny's voice was unusually soft, he was actually being nice to the young troublemaking spirit.

"Hey, Kangaroo. Where am I?" Jack's voice was very rough and he began to cough harshly.

Bunny waited till Jack's violent coughing fit ended before he spoke again, "Take it easy there. You are in the infirmary at the Pole, we brought you here after we rescued you from Pitch Black and Valkyrie." He helped Jack to sit up, seeing that the injured spirit could not do it on his own.

"I don't like her that much. She didn't really give me a friendly vibe." Jack coughed harshly once again after chuckling lightly at his own joke.

Bunny too couldn't help the little smile at the Guardian of Fun's sense of humor, but it quickly turned to an expression of worry as Jack continued to cough harshly. "Mate, do you need anything?"

Jack coughed once again before he spoke, "Hand me my staff." Bunny put the two pieces of wood into the spirit's outstretched hand. The Guardians had to search Pitch's caves for nearly three hors until they found the broken prices of Jack's staff.

"I will have to fix my staff. This will require a lot of my power, energy, and life force. I probably will not wake for another week at least. When I do fix it, it will release a lot of power as well. A build up has been in the making ever since I was captured, and it will explode when the staff is fixed. It will probably be best if you take me outside for this part. Call the other Guardians, they should be allowed to talk to me before I am out of it for a while."

Bunny nodded his head until he pressed a button next to Jack's bed. The button will activate a small alarm that will inform the other Guardians that Jack has awoken. They decided that this would be a better solution than the Northern Lights since everyone decided to stay at Santoff Clausen. Within a couple of minutes all the other Guardians entered the infirmary.

"Jack, my boy. It is good to see you awake!" North was very jovial and he lumbered into the room very happily.

"I'm sorry North, but it. won't be for long," Jack's hid a sly smile at his own inside joke. North frowned at Jack's cryptic remark, but he decided it was probably better to wait for Tooth and Sandy before he asked Jack about it.

Tooth was the next to arrive, with Sandy floating in not long after her. She flew over and sat on the end of Jack's bed. Her face was filled with concern, and Jack's violent coughing didn't ease her worry. Sandy just floated over next to Jack and they shared a knowing nod, Sandy was the dream keeper he knew what Jack was going to do, and he also knew that he would be unable to help Jack recover from what he was about to do.

"So, Jack, care to explain to the others what you are about to do." Bunny pointedly stared at the spirit, he did not want to be the one to tell Tooth.

Jack coughed harshly before he began to speak in a low, gruff voice, "The only way I can completely heal, or even begin to heal myself, is if I fix my staff. It will cause a large release of my powers and a lot of my energy. I will probably not wake up for at least a week, probably more."

"But, Sweet Tooth, you just woke up." Tooth was not very happy with Jack's explanation.

"Yes, I know Tooth, but if I don't do this I will never fully heal. It is best that I do this now before the power build up inside of my explodes. The raw power alone would destroy Santoff Clausen."

The Guardians' eyes all widen a little bit, but they were used to some of Jack's surprises by now.

"Bunny can you take me to some place about twenty miles from here, I shouldn't be near the Pole when this happens." Bunny nodded, and Jack addressed the others once again, "You all may come as well, but you will have to return to Santoff Clausen and wait for me to awaken."

They all agreed to go with Jack, so Bunny made a hole big enough for all of them to travel in. He grabbed Jack around the waist and they jumped in first, followed by the other Guardians. They appeared in the middle of the barren North Pole. Jack stumbled forward out of Bunny's grip.

"You should stand back. Don't worry about me, when the staff is fixed I will be caught in a storm like no other. I will be fine, it should not harm me."

Bunny was wary, but he and the other Guardians did as Jack requested. They saw as the Guardian of Fun held the two pieces of his staff out in from of him. As he brought the two pieces together a flash of blue and white surrounded Jack's figure. Before the traces of the light had even faded away, a storm of snow and ice began to encompass an unconscious Jack. He was lifted into the air, into his own personal blizzard. The Guardians were forced to hurry back to Santoff Clausen through one of Bunny's tunnels. The storm raged on for days, and the Guardians marveled at the raw power of the youngest Guardian.

* * *

_One week later..._

North was sitting in the Globe room in Santoff Clausen, sipping on a mug of hot chocolate. He was startled when he heard a knock on the window behind him. He turned around and saw Jack floating outside, his newly fixed staff resting on his shoulder. North happily opened the window and stepped back as Jack flew in.

"I shall activate the Northern Lights, my boy!" North trundled over to the main console next to the Globe. He turned and pushed the handle in.

Jack was always mesmerized by the blue and green lights that danced through the sky, and this time was no different. He continued to stare at the dancing lights, even after the other Guardians arrived. They were reminded once again that Jack was the Immortal Child as they watched his face light up with fascination and his eyes gleam with joy. It also grounded them, this young spirit was just tortured, but he was still able to find the joy and fun in life.

When the lights began to fade away he turned to face the other Guardians. As always he was very casual, "Hey."

"How are you feeling mate?" Bunny tried to sound casual, but inside he as very worried. He was unsure if Jack would be alright after seeing the size of the massive storm caused by Jack when he fixed his staff.

"Fine. Aside from being a little stiff, and Wind being a mother hen. I have not set foot on the ground since I fixed my staff. Even when I told her that I was fine and she was being a pain!" Jack said the last part a bit louder, and in response a cold breeze swept through the room. He chuckled and began to walk around the room, floating an inch above the ground. He was very graceful, even if he had just recovered from major torture.

"I'm assuming you guys have a few questions?" Jack waved his staff in the general direction of the Guardians.

"Nah' mate. Just one really."

Jack looked a little surprised, "Really? Only one? I thought I was a little more mysterious than that, but oh well. What is your question?"

"Why do the other Winter sprites call you 'Lord'?"

Jack just chuckled nervously, "You will find that answer out soon enough. I need to go visit some spirits." With that he jumped out of the window, and left the Guardians to wonder about his suspicious behavior.

**Please R&R! I love to read reviews! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	18. Kings and Queens Pt 1

**This is going to turn into a short little arc, and I hope you guys all enjoy this first chapter. Enjoy!**

**BTW: I have begun to write a new story, Secrets. It features our favorite Guardians with a little twist. I hope all of my faithful readers get a chance to see it, I hope to update it soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Gaurdians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs. **

Jack continued to fidget in his seat as North was speaking about the levels of belief, and the Guardians were noticing his uneasy behavior. He was even more fidgety than usual, but that want what alarmed them. His expression was carefully guarded, but occasionally it would slip and they would notice the anxiousness radiating from him. He was always glancing around, and he was biting his lip nervously.

Bunny soon became fed up with not knowing, "Alright, ya Gumby. What's on your mind?"

Jack was caught off guard, "W-what are you talking about?" He looked surprised and his nervousness was extremely evident.

"We all can notice it, Jack. You are more nervous than a jackrabbit in the same room as a wolf."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, literally or figuratively."

"Oh, stop with the innocent act, Jackie. You can't hide it from us."

Jack let out a sigh of defeat, "Fine. Fine. You got me, I am a bit anxious."

"Okay, that is one step forward. The next step is telling us why you are so nervous."

"I really didn't want to tell you guys, but I guess I will have to. How much do you know about the other seasons?"

"We know that none of the Seasonals really get along with each other, but that is about it."

"That is a start. How much do you know about Gaia?"

"You mean Mother Nature?"

"Yes, she is also called by Mother Nature, but Gaia is her original name."

"Well, I know she is powerful, and she has control over all the elements."

"Yes, and therefor the elementals. That means that although the Seasonals have the greatest power over their season, we still have to submit to Gaia."

"I don't see why this is making you anxious mate."

"We haven't got to that part yet." Jack took a deep breath and settled himself. "Recently, the fighting between me and the other Seasonals has gotten very serious. Most of our encounters together end up with me and Autumnalia facing off Trilily and Solera. Every time out powers clash the seasons are disrupted, and no one walks away unharmed. It has started offsetting the balance of nature, and that is why Gaia decided to step in."

Bunnymund cut Jack off, "Wait, mate. Wouldn't we have noticed this imbalance if has become this much of an issue? And wouldn't we also notice your injuries after these 'encounters'?"

"No and no. The imbalance tends to be localized to the areas where our encounters occur. And I never have an injury worse than a broken bone or two. Most of the times I just set them myself before sleeping it off in a snowbank in Antarctica. Now can I continue?"

Bunny was about to speak again, but he was silenced by a withering glare from Tooth.

"Anyway, Gaia has forced me and the other Seasonals to agree to attend meetings together. It has been imposed so that we can learn to get along with each other," Jack snorted softly at this, "And resolve some of our problems. Our first meeting is tonight. Gaia is attending in order to insure that there is no violence, and she will also reveal the leader of the Seasons Council. She told us when she last met us that she would reveal the leader at this first meeting, and that the leader will be the strongest of all of us. I'm just really nervous at having to be in the same room as Trilily and Solera, as well as their sprites."

"Wait, why are their sprites coming?"

"We all have to have one or two of outer most trusted sprites attend, so the other Seasonals know who to contact in our absence."

"Who are you bringing?" Bunny looked curiously at Jack.

"Icean. She is my most powerful sprite, and she is feisty. She likes the spirits of Summer and Spring even less than she likes me. I also trust her the most to deal with situations because she will not be fooled or mislead, she is too cold for someone to sway her. Wait, why do you want to know?"

"Because we have only met a few of your sprites, and I kind of wanted to know who you trusted the most."

Suddenly the Guardians were distracted by the arrival of said spirit. She arrived in a flurry of ice and freezing wind, just flying through the open window. She was wearing her traditional clothes, but she was also wearing a necklace with a snowflake pendant. Her hair was braided intricately down her back.

"Speak of the Ice Devil!" Jack stood up happily to greet Icean, and she in turned bowed slightly.

"We must be off, or we will be late for the meeting. You should change into your traditional garb before we go though."

Jack just groaned,and he disappeared into a swirl of snow. When the snow subsided he was no longer wearing his normal deerskin pants and blue sweatshirt. Jack Frost now wore royal blue felt leggings, and a white flowing tunic. He also wore a deep blue cloak with a hood that rested on his shoulders.

Tooth stared at him shocked, "Wow, Jack. You look-"

As she paused to think of an appropriate word, Bunny finished her sentence for her, "Kingly."

Icean turned towards Jack, "That reminds me my Lord," she drew out a crown from her robes, "you must wear your crown, Winter King."

The crown was a work of art. It was made of ice that sparkled in shades of blues so brilliantly it could have been made of diamonds. It was adorned with intricate patterns of frost. On the very front spike, which were crafted of complexly connected snowflakes, was a blue sapphire. The sapphire was a royal blue, like Jack's leggings, but the shade was inconsistent, and the depths of the gem seemed to twist and swirl.

" I know, I know. It's beautiful. The crown was handcrafted by the original Winter King. It is more beautiful and extravagant than any of the other season's. I only have to wear it when I representing my title as the Winter King, so that includes today."

He looked at Icean, who was beginning to show signs of impatience, "I must be going now. Wish me luck."

He smirked before holding his arm out to Icean. She grabbed his arm and they began to disappear in a swirl of ice and snow. A moment later they were gone all together.

* * *

They reappeared in the grand hall of the palace of Gaia. It was enchanted with layers upon layers of Earth magic. It was one of the few places with enough magical enchantment that all of the different seasons could be approached the center table in the room, Icean a half step behind him. He sat in the silver throne, and he motioned for Icean to stand by his right side.

Across the table in a golden throne sat Solera. She was wearing a golden form-fitting dress that flared at the waist. At the base of her neck, attached a thin chain, rested a beautiful ruby. It was like a drop of blood. She wore bright red lipstick and dark black mascara. A hint of golden powder glinted on her eyes, and her silky blond hair was pulled into an intricate braid that resembled a flower. Her red cloak matched the red gems on her necklace, as well as the one on her crown. She wore a golden crown with intricate designs, but it more closely resembled a tiara. It too had a ruby as a center piece. The ruby flickered shades of red, and Jack knew it was because of the eternal flame at the center of it. At her right hand side was the vicious sprite, Kalava.

Jack resented every single encounter he had with the sprite. She was his least liked sprite of Summer, which was saying something. She had dark brown hair cut short at the shoulders. She had dark brown eyes to match. She was taller than her queen, but not much taller than Jack. She was wearing tight black pants and black leather combat boots. A blood red camp was partially hidden by the leather biker jacket that rested on her shoulders. A pair of sunglasses was pushed back from her face, and she wore thick black eyeliner and red lipstick. Her attitude was very cruel, and she was very short tempered.

To Jack's left was Trilily. Her throne was made of vines and flowers. She wore a dress made of white and pink rose petals. Around her waist was dark vines that accentuated what curves she had. She wore light pink lip gloss and black mascara and eyeliner. Her eyeshadow was a pink that matched her dress and it was applied artfully. Her red hair was free flowing and was slightly wavy. A green cloak rested on her shoulders. Her crown was made of brown and green vines that intertwined. It's center gem was a dark green emerald. To her right was a group of two unkind sprites.

Katydid and Leilac were not fans of Jack Frost, and he was not fans of them. None of the spring sprites looked a like because it represented new life for everyone so her sprites came from everywhere. Katydid had a more European look to her. She was taller than the other sprites, but thin. She had mid-length curly black hair that was pulled back into a French braid. She had pale white skin, similar to Jack's but not the same. She wore no make-up aside from light black eyeliner, which made her brown eyes stand out even more. She wore a floor length gown that was emerald green. Around her waist was gold chain, and the sleeves only connected at the shoulders and the wrists. She wore light green slippers, which were tapping impatiently.

Leilac was very different from her Spring sibling. She too had mid-length hair, but it was a light brown with slivers of blonde highlights. She had brown eyes, and her face was splotched with freckles like her Queen. She wore rosy pink lipstick and eyeshadow to match. She had broad shoulders and hips, which gave her a very curvaceous figure. Her dress was a pastel orange, and it had the shape of a sundress. She wore light yellow slippers to match the yellow embroidery on her dress. Her cheery outfit contrasted her dark attitude though, and to Jack it made her all the more sinister.

To Jack's right was Autumnalia, sitting in a throng of dead wood and leaves. He wore a flowing tunic of a burnt orange color. His soft felt leggings were brown. His hair was a mess, much like Jack's. His freckles seemed to be darker than normal, but other than that he was wearing his usual. Over his shoulders rested a brown cloak much like Jack's. His crown was made of leaves of varying colors, but it had an natural beauty to it, much better than Trilily's or Solera's. It's center gem was a large diamond. The gem reflected the colors of Autumn and was well suited for the ruler. By the Fall King's side was one of Jack's favorite, non-winter, sprites.

California, or just Cali for short, was a very free and easy spirit. She was much more playful and laid back than many other sprites. She was fairly new, but incredibly strong. She had silky dirty blonde hair that cascaded down her back. She wore tan cargo shorts that showed off her tan and muscular legs. Her green tee did wonders to do the same for her arms. Her face was beautiful, but hidden behind the dirt she accumulated. She had a very awesome tom-boy charm, but she caught the eye of every male spirit or sprite. Her eyes were blue, but they had a ring of brown around the center, which was very in common for a fall sprite. She wore a pair of brown hiking boots, and she looked rather bored to have to sit through a formal meeting. She smiled at Jack as he caught her eye, and he grinned in return.

Suddenly everyone was distracted from their silent glaring contests by the entrance of a new sprite. She wore a long dress. The bodice was made of intricately braided snowflakes. Right below it were rings of leaves, which was seceded by bright gree grass. Finally the train of the dress was made of flower petals. The woman was pure beauty. Her face was regal and was framed by rich brown hair braided into a bun. Her crown represented the different spirits with spikes made of leave, thin strands of gold intertwined with green and brown vines, and finally it was covered in beautiful patterns of frost. She radiated power, and everyone knew her. She was Gaia, Mother Nature, the most powerful spirit. She strode towards to the table surrounded by thrones. She stopped two yards away and made eye contact with each Seasonal.

"Let the Council of the Seasons begin!" She announced.

**Please R&R! It really motivates me to continue updating this story! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	19. Kings and Queens Pt 2

**I changed this chapter so much. When I wrote the original it was too disjointed and awkward, so I rewrote it. It is soo much different and cleaner.**

**There will definitely be another chapter. Reviews encourage me to write more and update faster! **

**Also, please check out my other story! Enjoy!**

**P.S. It will be a little while before I can update again. I'm so sorry, but Iw I'll post as soon as I can.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Gaurdians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

"Let the Council of the Seasons begin!"

The monarchs all stood and bowed to their rightful Queen, before resuming their positions in their thrones. They all murmured a welcoming, but none tried to stand out. When it came to dealing with Mother Nature it was not good to stand out, but you don't want to blend into the background. Their was very fine line to tread, one that many have fallen off of.

"It is good to see you my true children. First I would like if the Seasonals would introduce their most trusted and loyal servants before I continue. These will be the sprites you contact when you cannot contact the head Seasonal."

Gaia nodded towards Trilily, indicating that she was supposed to go first. She stood from her throne, "I am Trilily, Queen of Spring. My two most trusted and powerful sprites are Katydid," she stepped forward and bowed before returning to where she stood, "and Leilac." After Leilac repeated the process Trilily sat back down into her throne.

Next was Solera's turn, "I am Solera, Queen of Summer. My loyal follower is Kalava, you can typically find her in the Hawaiian Islands or Pompeii." The sprite stepped forward and bowed before she and her queen returned to their previous positions.  
Autumnalia focused on something, and a moment later a new sprite appeared next to Cali. "I am called Autumnalia, the King of Fall. My two attendants are California," the sprite stepped forward and bowed, "and Kayleaf. I am sorry she had to arrive late, she had to attend her duties." The spirit that stepped forward was another good friend of Jack's.

Kayleaf was a younger sprite. She was smaller than many sprites, but she was powerful all the same. She had long wavy brown hair that was free flowing. Her eyes were a mixture of blue and green that was peculiar, but beautiful. She wore no make-up, but her natural beauty was incomparable. She was wearing a blue tee and cargo shorts similar to Cali's. Her shoes were a pair of brown hiking boots and she was wearing a pair of brown wool socks.

As Kayleaf, Cali, and Autumnalia returned to their original positions Jack stood. He made sure to make his voice sound authorities and commanding, "I am known as Jack Frost, Winter King, Immortal Child, and Guardian of Fun. My most powerful sprite is Icean. I recommend just looking for me, but if not you can find Icean in Greenland most of the time." He knew Icean had bowed behind him, but he didn't look to make sure. He sat back in his throne as Gaia began studying all of the monarchs present.  
"All of you are the most powerful spirits and sprites in the spirit world. Many of you are not well known, and others of you are seen as weak. The spirit world has ignored all of you for far too long. The leader of this Council will hold a grand ball for the whole spirit world. You will introduce yourself and the other monarchs, as well as all of your true powers."

Gaia let that set in. Some of the monarchs looked shocked, others looked a little confused, including Jack.

Solera sat forward, "True Mother, how can we do that? None of us have even discovered our true powers."

Gaia smiled warmly at her, "I will be there to help you. I will put you in a stasis, and while you are in your subconscious I will release your aura into the room. The force of your aura will overcome the entire room, and they will experience your raw power. You will be a little fatigued afterwords, but no spirit will ever question you again."  
Jack sat forward, a little worried, "Mother, would that not be dangerous? Especially for the other monarchs in the rom?"

Gaia just laughed, "No my child. I will shelter all of the Seasonals from the powers of each other. If any of your powers were to collide, bad things would happen. But don't worry, I am strong enough to protect you from each other."

Jack sat back relieved, but it was Trilily who was worried this time, "Gaia, who will attend this grand ball? And where will it be held?"

"The spirits invited will be mostly composed of holidays, for they underestimate the powers of my children. Others will be seasonal sprites of power, they need to learn some respect. As for the location, that will be determined by the leader of this council."

Autumnalia sat forward, "And that would be...?"

"Before I tell you who the leader will be, you must understand the responsibilities of said spirit. The spirit will gain a certain amount of power, this will help them to resolve any disputes and keep order during these council meetings. They will have to have some token of significance to distinguish them from the other monarchs. And finally they will have to represent this council when it is consulted by any other spirit."  
"Yes mother," all of the monarchs murmured in unison.

"Good. The leader rightfully deserves this position, I don't want to hear any complaints. The King of the Seasons Council will be Jack Frost." She announced it casually, lacking all the fanfare many other spirits would have expected.  
Trilily looked heartbroken and upset, Solera looked downright murderous, Autumnalia looked pleased, and Jack just sat their dumbfounded, but true to their word none spoke out.

Jack was still kind of shocked, but he knew it was polite to say thank you after being handed a title of power, "Thank you, True Mother."

Gaia smiled at him, "You deserve it. You are never unjust or cruel. Although few know of it, you do punish your sprites and that is part of the reason I chose you. You are nice, but you can still hand out punishment. Also, Winter is a time of power, and therefor you are a very powerful spirit. Spring and Fall have the power of change, Summer has the power of heat and energy, but you are different Jack Frost. Winter has the power of coldness and revenge. Those are two very powerful driving factors, but your real power comes from your ability to make it fun. An ability that is rare in monarchs."

Jack bowed respectively to his Queen, accepting her praise, "What must I do now?"  
Gaia thought for a brief moment before deciding upon her course of action, "Hand me your staff."

Jack hesitated briefly before handing over his conduit. As Gaia grabbed hold it was surrounded in a golden light. When the light faded, wood grains in the staff had been infused with gold. It was even more beautiful because it twisted through the wood grains and not once did it overpower the brown color of the staff. As Jack gripped the staff again, he could feel it thrumming with more power than usual.

"Now the other spirits and sprites will be able to distinguish you from the others. Don't worry about anyone noticing before the ball though. Only the other monarchs can see the change in your staff before the ball, I have hidden the change from everyone else."

Gaia began to walk away, but she called out over her shoulder, "I will leave the particulars to you all. Please have one of your sprites update me on the final plan." The monarchs all watched as Gaia left, when she was out of view all of them slouched back into their thrones.

Solera looked over at Jack, her eyes spoke of fury and her tone was snarky, "So, my 'King', let us plan this ball." She sneered at Jack before absentmindedly playing with some flames in her palm.

Jack ignored her tone and he responded evenly, "The ball will be held in the ice palace in Antarctica. Trust me, you will be able to find it," Jack silenced Icean's questioning look before continuing, "It will be in two weeks' time, that will be enough time for any preparations needed. The winds of the world will bring the invites to the holidays, while most powerful sprites will track down the important seasonal sprites and invite them. With that, I officially end this Council of the Seasons."

All of the monarchs and their sprites disappeared. Jack turned to face Icean.  
She raised her eyebrows at him, but her tone was as flat as ever, "My Lord, you do not have an ice palace."

Jack smiled, "That shall be rectified soon. I am going to create a new winter sprite, one that will rule the Antarctic. She or he will also help me to build the palace, that is why I planed it two weeks from now. Go! Alert the powerful winter sprites of the ball, I expect EVERYONE to be their."

She bowed traditionally, "Of course King Winter." Icean left in a swirl of ice and Jack sighed.

He stood and lazily jumped into the air, "Wind take me to the Atlantic!"  
Jack loved the Atlantic Ocean. The roiling waves reminded him of his own turbulent emotions. But something was different today, as he was flying over the waves he felt himself being pulled in a different direction.

He finally couldn't ignore the nagging feeling and the wind shifted his direction. He flew low over the wavesuntil he saw the coast. He was somewhere in Maine, judging by the breathtaking rocky shores. He saw a girl crying, sitting on one of the large rocks near the grassy field behind the rocky shore. She was hunched up, her legs pulled up by her arms. She was clutching a picture of two navy officers, and next to her were two folded up American flags. She looked up as a lone snowflake floated down to her. She caught it on her palm, and a brilliant blue and white light surrounded her.

When the light died a beautiful young spirit stood on the rocky shore. Her long wavy hair was a soft chocolate brown, with brilliant streaks of white throughout. Her eyes were a baby blue, that looked like cracked ice. She had a pale ivory complexion, that was smooth like satin. Her lips were a pale rose. She was well muscled, but not overly athletic looking. She was wearing a pair of white sweatpants and brown sliders with black socks. Her shirt was a navy blue muscle shirt. She looked up at Jack surprised.  
Her voice was timid and weak, "Wh-Who are you? What happened to me?"

Jack smiled softly, "I am Jack Frost. Who were you before?"

"My name was Evelynn. Not the prettiest name I guess, but my parents liked it. They died in battle a week ago. I am alone now." Jack could see the tears begin to well in the girl's eyes, so he landed next to her lightly.

"No you are not. You are a sprite of winter now, you will never be alone again. Evelynn is a pretty name, but I think Evergreen is slightly better, especially for a sprite of winter. I have chosen you to be the sprite of Antarctica, as well as maintain and help build the ice palace. I will create the foundation, but the different decorations will be up to you. I will build the hall within two or three days, then you must finish all the detailing work in two weeks before the grand ball is to be held."

"But, how do I use my powers?" The young sprite still looked very uncomfortable, but she was beginning to relax visibly.

Jack laughed, "That's easy. Close your eyes," he ordered. He paused as the other sprite obeyed, "Breathe in deeply. Feel the energy flowing through your body, your limbs, your very fingertips. Now release it, try to focus it on your hands."

He watched as the other sprite released a brief shot of frost onto the ground surrounding her, he eyes shot open wide. "Woah," she spoke softly.

"You will learn to harness and use more of your powers as you work on the ice palace. Trust me, it's a lot of fun to discover all of your powers." Jack smiled at the still disbelieving sprite.

He beckoned for her to grab his hand, "For now, I am going to take you to stay with a few friends of mine."

She hesitated staring at her photo and flags still laying on the rock.  
Jack saw the look too. Her tapped his staff against the items and watched as they froze solid before disappearing. "They will be waiting for us when we arrive at our destination. By the way, that is a very helpful trick. Now grab my hand." The spirit took hold and smiled at Jack, "Don't freak." He turned away from Evergreen and shouted into the air, "Wind, take me to the pole!" With that he pulled Evergreen off the rock and into the air. She became used to the sensation in a short time, and the two flew through the air shouting like they didn't have a care int the only took another hour-and-a-half before they reached the Pole.

Jack and Evergreen touched down lightly in the Globe room, surprising the other Guardians.

After fighting off a hug from Tooth Jack chuckled before talking, "Hey guys. This is my friend Evergreen, she will be staying in my room here in Santoff Clausen for a few days. I have some business to attend to for now, so Iw I'll show her her temporary quarters then I will be off. Sorry I can't explain it more to you, you will understand soon." With that he guided Evergreen out of the room filled with confused Guardians, up a long set of stairs, and into his plain room.

Jack turned to Evergreen as he shut the door behind him, "And yes before you say anything, you did just meet the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny. You will learn that many of those childhood stories were true, and you will meet some of them in your time here in the spirit world. moving on, you will be staying here until the palace is ready to be decorated. The kitchen is down the stairs and to the right, you can get food at any time. You may not tell the Guardians anything, not that you know much anyway. I will come and get you in two or three days, don't cause too much trouble. Most of the Guardians will leave for their own respective homes soon. Don't worry they are all pretty nice, so you probably won't have any problems with them. Any questions?"

Evergreen looked a little flustered, but she absorbed all the information as she wandered about the room, "No. I think you covered it all. Goodbye King Frost." She watched as Jack disappeared in a swirl of snow before passing out on the comfortable bed in the room.

**Please R&R! Reviews encourage me to continue writing! Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


	20. Kings and Queens Pt 3

**Hey guys. I am a horrible author for not updating this story for so long and final really sorry. To make up for it this chapter is over four thousand words. I hope you read the rewrite of the last chapter or else this will make zero sense. Once again, so sorry. I am a terrible person, and go will try to update more frequently. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

Jack left Evergreen in his room and went back down to the Globe room. The Guardians looked a him curiously as he entered, but they seemed hesitant to ask him anything.

Sandy eventually 'broke the silence' when he formed a question mark above his head.

Jack sighed, "I'm sorry, I cannot tell you any more. This is a very delicate situation and I am not at liberty to explain any more than I already have. Evergreen will not be bothered by any of you, if she wants to be alone then leave her alone. I told her she is welcome to any of the food and that you guys would be nice. She is also ordered not to tell any of you anything, even if she knows about as little as the rest of you."

Jack walked past the Guardians and their shocked faces, "I will return in a couple of days-three at the most- to retrieve Evergreen. You will probably not see me for two weeks, but you will know what's going on soon enough. Good-bye." He jumped out the window ignoring the now confused looks of the rest of the Guardians.

Back with Evergreen...

She woke a couple of hours later, a couple hours before dawn. She wanndered around the sparsely decorated room, looking at what was present in the room. The bed she slept in had crisp, velvety silver sheets, and a warm quilt of varying shades of blue.

Next to the bed was a side table made of a rich dark wood -matching the wood of the head and footboard of the bed- with an un-scuffed glossy surface. A solitary white lamp sat atop it, and the only thing in the drawer was picture. The picture was of a young boy and girl. The boy had floppy brown hair, brown eyes, a smile that was missing a tooth, and he was carrying a bright red sleigh. The girl was a few years younger with misshapen blonde hair, a pink hat, and startling green eyes. Scribbled in nearly illegible handwriting on the back was 'Merry Christmas, Jack! - Love Jamie and Sophie'. She replaced the photo where it was hidden, and she walked over examine the rug in the center of the room.

The floor was of a very dark stain and beautiful grain that matched the other furniture. The carpet however was pure white, but it was not what Evergreen expected. She had crouched down to feel it , but instead of finding a soft woolen rug, she found a mat of woven snowflakes. It was cool and soft, and it didn't even melt at her touch -on the contrary it seemed get colder. She marveled at how her new powers seemed to tingle, and she shivered as she felt the slivers of power run through her. She splayed her hand on the wooden floor and was fascinated as the frost patterns began to cover the floor, extending from her fingertips. After the entire floor was coated she stood slowly and began to pad quietly across the ice until she reached the wall made of bookshelves.

The wall was lined with an innumerable amount of books. They ranged from first editions of classic British literature to the modern works of James Patterson. There was also a large section devoted to the works of great poets like Edgar Allen Poe. She pulled out the first edition, red leather bound collection of his works and noted that a pure silver bookmark was placed carefully marking one of the pages. She opens to the page and read the poem aloud,

_It was many and many a year ago,_

_ In a kingdom by the sea,_

_That a maiden there lived whom you may know_

_ By the name of ANNABEL LEE;_

_And this maiden she lived with no other thought_

_ Than to love and be loved by me._

_I was a child and she was a child,_

_ In this kingdom by the sea;_

_But we loved with a love that was more than love—_

_ I and my Annabel Lee;_

_With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven_

_ Coveted her and me._

_And this was the reason, that long ago,_

_ In this kingdom by the sea,_

_A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling_

_My beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_So that her highborn kinsmen came_

_ And bore her away from me,_

_To shut her up in a sepulchre_

_ In this kingdom by the sea._

_The angels, not half so happy in heaven,_

_ Went envying her and me—_

_Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,_

_ In this kingdom by the sea)_

_That the wind came out of the cloud by night_,

_ Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee._

_But our love it was stronger by far than the love_

_ Of those who were older than we—_

_ Of many far wiser than we—_

_And neither the angels in heaven above,_

_ Nor the demons under the sea,_

_Can ever dissever my soul from the soul_

_ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._

_For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams_

_ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes_

_ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side_

_Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,_

_ In her sepulchre there by the sea,_

_ In her tomb by the sounding sea._

As she had read the beautiful verses she wandered over to the bay windows. She closed the book and stared out at the winter wonderland. She spun around as she heard a gentle knock on the door. Bunnymund stepped through the already partially opened door. He looked over the hung female sprite as if judging her.

"That was Jack's favorite poem. He always read it when he was troubled, like he is now. I know he told you not to say anything, but I have to know if he is in danger or anything. He seemed really distracted and colder than usual. Is he alright?" Bunnymund had walked over to Evergreen and was now a mere inches from his face.

She leaned backwards a little bit, but to her credit she did not shirk away from his piercing gaze. "I honestly don't know. I was probably told less than you anyway, but I can't tell you anything. I may be a brand new sprite, but I understand enough to know that as a sprite of winter I have to follow any commands given to me by my King."

"Wait. You are a new sprite?"

Evergreen swore under her breath, "Yes, and I can't tell you any more. I am sorry, but as far as I can tell from what he has told me, I do not think he is danger. Rather I think something big is going to happen soon. I can't say more because I have said too much as it is, please leave now. I am still rather exhausted." She turned away from Bunnymund and replaced the book on the shelf where it belongs. Bunnymund looked her over once again before he took his leave.

He turned around as he was about to shut the door,"Thank you." It was so soft Evergreen nearly didn't hear it. She smiles to herself thinking maybe she had a new friend.

She truly was tired so she did go back to sleep, passing out the second she was snuggled under the covers.

The next couple of days went by quickly for Evergreen. She mostly stayed in Jack's room reading books and poetry. If she was hungry she wandered down to the kitchen, occasionally she would see some elves or North ransacking the cookie jar, but most of the time it was empty.

Evergreen was sitting on the bed reading when Jack flew through one of the open windows. He grabbed Evergreen's hand and pulled her forwards the door, "Let's go. I will tell the Guardians that we are leaving and then we must be going. You will have ten days before I return to the ice palace for final preparations."

The Guardians looked up as they entered the Globe room. Some looked a little startled to see Jack, but he remained emotionless and cold towards them. "We will be leaving now. I will see you in eleven days."

Tooth fluttered over, "Jack. What is going on? Why are you acting like this? Are you in danger or something else we should know about?"

Jack bit back his regret and kept up his facade, "No, and we must be going."

Bunny too stood up, "But mate, what is in eleven days?"

"I cannot tell you more. You will know soon enough. I believe you will be contacted in a few days from now. Good-bye." With that he jumped out the window, pulling Evergreen along behind him.

They arrived at the ice palace a couple of hours later. Evergreen marveled at the sheer size of the structure. It rose stories above the ground and it extended far to the sides. Towers and spires stood high above, and Evergreen marveled at the 'base' of the palace that Jack had built in just three days.

He turned to her, "I will return in ten days. Decorate it as you please. The only rule I have is that it to be as grand as you can possibly make it. This ball will hold every important spirit and sprite in the spirit world, so it must be impressive. The rest of the spirits will learn that I am the King of the Seasons, and they will learn of the true powers of the monarchs, including myself. This will be one of the biggest and most momentous event in the spirit world."

Evergreen took a deep breath but nodded her head, "Okay. See you in ten days." She waved as Jack flew off, before she turned around and entered the palace.

Ten days later...

Jack landed outside the palace and pushed open the large doors that lead into the entry hall. Extravagance was in abundance all throughout the palace. The entire building was made of crystalline ice and decorated with snow and frost. Ice chandeliers hung from the ceiling and tapestries of woven ice threads decorated the walls. He nodded his head approvingly and went in search of Evergreen. He found her in the kitchens.

She turned around when she heard him approach, "My Lord, I have encountered a problem while decorating the kitchen and the bedrooms."

Jack laughed, "Are you talking about the fireplaces and ovens and stoves?"

"Yes my Lord."

"I know you would be stumped. Actually, that is why I am here today. I am the only spirit belonging to winter that can produce fire. I know it sounds a little stupid, but my powers can produce a fire. It is an ice fire made of flames of cold. I can charm them to be cold to the touch except for certain substances. I can charm the ice fire to heat food in the kitchens, and clothes in the rooms. Therefore it is impossible for anyone to be burned or for the ice to be melted. It takes some time to create, so if you would like you can hang out in the sitting room and take a break while I work."

As Evergreen left Jack began to work. It took him late into the night until he finished, and when he did he went into the master bedroom and passed out on a bed of snowflakes softer than feathers. He did not wake until mid morning the next day. When he walked into the breakfast room and Evergreen offered him an apple. They sat in relative silence eating their respective foods. When Jack was done he closed his eyes and focused.

When Icean appeared he turned to a slightly surprised Evergreen, "This is the Ice Princess, AKA my second in command."

He then turned to Icean who was waiting expectantly, "First things first, Evergreen is a new sprite that helped to decorate the Ice Palace. She will reside here and maintain upkeep, and she will also be the sprite of Antarctica. Second, I need you to go to Santoff Clausen and ask North to borrow a few cooking yetis. If he refuses tell him it is not really a request, but we asked nicely. Bring them here and tell them to begin preparing a feast for hundreds. We're you able to contact all of the major winter sprites?"

"Yes I made sure they will all be in attendance, Frost. I will go get the yetis." She disappeared in a swirl of snow similar to her entrance.

Jack turned back to Evergreen, "You may attend the ball, but do not draw attention to yourself. If any unsavory spirit or sprite were to learn that you are a young sprite, let alone an unbounded one then you will be in danger. Trust me. You will live here in the Ice Palace permanently and attend to any guests. When I am here you have the freedom to go anywhere else, so you are not stuck in the castle, but you will live here. Other spirits and sprites may stay here at times, and all consultations with the King of seasons will be in the throne hall. Any questions?"

"Two actually. When will the guests begin to arrive? And what should I wear?"

"They should begin to arrive around three. Holidays will tend to wear their normal clothing since it represents them. Sprites and other spirits on the other hand will wear gowns, suits, and armor. I can fashion you an ice dress that can be rivaled by few, if you want."

Evergreen seemed to think a little, "That would be great. when will you have it done? The guests will begin to arrive in five hours."

Jack glanced over her, "Go and put on a light blue silk underlay then meet me in the sitting room.

After complying with his order Evergreen made her way down to the sitting room that was the first door on the left in the entry hall. She walked in to find Jack sitting cross legged with his eyes closed and his staff across his lap. He looked up as he heard the door opening and motioned for Evergreen to stand in front of him. She closed her eyes as she felt ice and snow swirl around her.

She opened her eyes she could feel the weight of a dress on her body. Jack motioned for her to turn around and look into the mirror of reflective ice. What she saw took her breath away. The upper part of the bodice looked like an ice blue corset with navy blue lace overlay as well as ocean blue ties. The skirt of the dress was a navy blue and there were overlapping layers of lace that ranged in color, including ice blue, white, ocean blue, aquamarine. Everything was made of ice that flowed like fabric. She wore a shawl made of snow that was as soft and fluffy as fur.

"Wow," she murmured as she stroked the soft fabrics.

"Not done yet," Jack muttered. "Turn around, close your eyes and stand absolutely still."

She felt Jack apply makeup to her face and even style her hair. When he allowed her to open her eyes he had her step into a pair of glass heels similar to those of Cinderella. Once again she turned to look in the mirror, and once again she was shocked by Jack's expertise.

Her eyelashes were full, long, and accentuated by by dark eyeliner. Her eyeshadow was a dark blue, and a pale pink powder made her ivory complexion look like a Classic Hollywood actor. On her lips was a clear gloss that enhanced the rosy color. Her hair was braided intricately in a way that made her white streaks stand out even more. White and pale pink roses were woven into the braid. She was absolutely gorgeous, the pure image of beauty. Only the monarchs and Gaia herself could surpass or even match her beauty.

She raised her eyebrow at Jack, "Should I be worried at your proficiency with all of this?"

Jack laughed, "No. Soph is in her dress up stage, so I had to learn to do all of this. It doesn't help that I have to be a perfectionist in everything, including fashion, makeup, and hair."

"Thank you, Jack. I'm going to put some finishing touches to the throne room, you better get ready yourself."

She left as Jack began to be surrounded in snow himself. She didn't see him until he came into the throne room and sat on the center throne on the raised Dias. His jacket was a stiff navy blue fabric with two rows of silver knobs down the front, similar to a classic British officer from Pride and Prejudice. He wore straight, stiff black pants, but he still lacked a pair of shoes. He sat stiff and straight, like a ruler. Ocean appeared behind him in a blue version of the dress Jenna Louise Coleman wore in the episode 'Snowmen' of Doctor Who. Her hair was free flowing for once and the only makeup she wore was mascara and some dark blue eyeliner.

The other monarchs were the next ones to arrive.

Autumnalia wore similar dress to Jack, except for his formal jacket was burnt orange. Cali was wearing a dark brown dress that was sleeveless and fitted her figure, but flared into a half skirt. She wore dark green eyeshadow, mascara, and brown eyeliner as well. Her hair was braided into a bun. Kayleaf's dress had a similar shape, but it was the shades of the leaves in fall instead. She wore brown eyeshadow and mascara only.

Trilily wore the same dress that she had worn to the Seasons Council, and her makeup was similar as well. Katydid wore an A-line deep green dress, complete with sleeve and a black shawl. Her hair was down, and her makeup was limited to mascara. Her shoes were a pair of black ballet flats with no design on them. Leilac wore a pastel pink gown that similar to the fall sprites', but where it flared out at the waist it was covered in a layer of white lace. She had painted her face to have rosy cheeks, and black lashes accented by white eyeshadow. She wore a pair of stewpot white heels as well.

Solera's dress was similar to her previous one as well. But the skirt was made to resemble that of Belle's from Beauty and the Beast. The bodice had been decorated with red stitching, which was accented by the appearance of live flames that danced around the edge of her skirt. She wore harlot red lipstick, golden eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and mascara. Her hair tumbled down her back like waves of gold. Kalava wore a very form fitting red silk dress with straps that hung on the side of her arms instead of off the shoulders. A long slit up the side revealed a well muscled leg and her black pumps. She wore mascara, black eyeliner, and lipstick that matched the color of her Queen's.

They all wore their crowns and Jack's staff laid across his lap. All of the monarchs sat in their respective thrones as the other spirits and sprites arrived. As Jack had predicted, almost all of the holidays wore their traditional garb, but some switched into suits or dresses colored similarly. All of the sprites came dressed in clothes that too looked like they came from early British literature, although none compared to the monarchs, their main helpers, and of course Evergreen. The Guardians flashed more than a few questioning looks at the monarchs, Jack in particular, as well as Evergreen. She remained stoic and the guests mingled until the arrival of Gaia.

She wore the same dress from before, but it still looked extravagant. She walked up to he dais and stood in front of the monarchs. She addressed the crowd of spirits and sprites in front of her, "You have been invited here today to formally meet my children. Many of you doubt their powers, and that must stop. I will reveal their true power to you, and you will learn proper respect. I will also introduce the new Seasons King. His power is only second to mine, and he will keep peace in the nature spirit world. Introducing, Jack Frost!"

Jack stood up and walked forward to stand next to Gaia.

"His new title will be Jack Frost, King of the Seasons, Winter King, Immortal Child, and Guardian of Fun. I trust that you will treat him with proper respect." She snapped her fingers and Jack knew that the rest of the sprites could now see the change in his staff. He stared ahead, looking confident and authoritative, knowing that all the eyes of the spirit world were on him. When Gaia motioned for him to do so, he returned to his seat.

Next Gaia showed each of the monarchs true auras. None can truly comprehend and remember what happened, but they all learned a certain level of respect, well almost all. It was if at the core of each sprite resonated the powers of the monarchs auras. Trilily's was warm, happy, and hopeful, but powerful all the same to be able to affect so many sprites. Solera's was rage and pure hot power and passion, a force to be reckoned with. Autumnalia's was biting like the precursor of winter, but it also flowed with power like the wind blowing leaves. Jack's was ice and rage, but fun and carefree at the same time. He was more powerful than the others and his effect was even more pronounced when some of the guests began to Reese.

Although many people were more wary and cautious the rest of the night, the ball was in full swing. There was laughter and dancing late into the night. Even the monarchs ah succumbed to the revelry and joined in late in the night. A feast was laid out in the main dining hall, and guests wandered in and out all night as they became hungry. Very little food remained after the ball.

Many spirits and sprites went home a lot less sober that night, but Gaia was happy. She knew that there would be less problems with spirits trying to pick fights with her monarchs. Although she did suspect there would be some damage control to do since many of the most powerful sprites were just sent away drunk to do whatever they decided to do. Over all she considered it a success.

Jack too had a great night. He saw caution in the eyes of some of his old foes and that heartened him. He knew he would be in less fights and injured less. He was corralled into going back with the Guardians to Santoff Clausen. Although they were pissed at not being told anything, they were mostly just relieved that Jack was okay and never in danger. Jack instructed ocean to help Evergreen clean up after the ball, and then return the yetis to Santoff Clausen.

They all took the sleigh back to Santoff Clausen where Jack promptly passed out on his bed in his room. He had good dreams that night without the help of Sandy. He dreamt off his family, the Guardians, his friends; Cali, Kayleaf, Evergreen, and he even dreamt of his newfound respect. Although he had a slight hangover, Jack awoke happier than he has been for two weeks. He hated keeping the secret from the guardians plus all the work he had to do in the Ice Palace and maintaining a large blizzard that he had sent through Russia while waiting for Evergreen to decorate his palace. Jack was also a little apprehensive. He was unsure of his new role, but he knew he had friends and family that would help.

**Please R&R! I hat the ending and it's too late for me to come up with anything better, so PM if you have an idea. Sherlock-Jim-Stole-the-TARDIS**


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